SunClan's Fate, Book I: The Shadow
by Nicki Anne
Summary: The First book in the SunClan's Fate trilogy. Silverswirl and Feathertail face tough decisions and situations as they attempt to make it through the worst their clan, SunClan, has seen. Set in my own fictional territories, clans, cities, etc. Hope you like it! Book II is much better written and structured than this also. Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

_**SunClan's Fate, Book I: The Shadow**_

"_There is no passion so contagious as that of fear."_

_-Michel de Montaigne_

_**Part I**_

"_It is a strange fate of man, that even in the greatest of evils the fear of the worst continues to haunt him."_

_-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

Prologue

Berrystar breathed a sigh of relief. Her clan that she had left behind was safe and sound. Green-leaf had passed without incident. There had been no attacks, no disease, and no tragedies. And what was more, it was thriving! SunClan was the largest clan out of the four and there couldn't be anything that could reduce them. She happily groomed her bright red-brown coat on the highest branch on the tallest tree in the forest. StarClan truly had no limits to what she could do. She agilely rose to her paws and leapt down from limb to limb until she reached to bottom.

StarClan. A place of true beauty and light. Beams of sunset-orange light danced playfully through the leaves of the forest. Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green leaves fell from the everlasting trees. Small piles of warm snow drifted next to the ever-changing trees. One day it would be Leaf-fall, and the next it would be the middle of Greenleaf.

A slow warm breeze coursed through her long fur. Not too cold, not to warm. Perfect.

Leaves and pine needles coated the forest floor beneath her paws. An odd root sometimes popped out of the earth, creating nice hiding places for prey. In the distance she could hear the steady flow of the Great River and the quiet trickle of the stream. Long stems of grass grew densely around the trees, as if they were trying to shelter them. Wildflowers bloomed heavily, mixing their sweet scent in with that of the warm earth, tantalizing prey, and clear air.

Drinking in the sweet scents of birds, mice, and voles she decided how she was going to spend the rest of her day. She searched around the wide forest, looking for the perfect prey. Soon she spotted a juicy, fat mouse sitting on a tree root eating a grass seed. Stealthily she crept up on it, keeping downwind from it. Just as she was preparing to pounce a voice shouted behind her, scaring away the mouse. It ducked under the closest root into its hole.

She rose up from her crouch, angrier than a nest of bees, "What is it that you want! I was just about to catch that!"

A large tom caught up to her, out of breath, "It-It's Aspenstar and-and Finchstar." He took in another gulp of air, "They want to see you at Four Rivers immediately!"

"What is it about, Voleclaw?"

"I don't know, they didn't tell me. They did tell me that they need you right away and that it's urgent."

Whatever they needed it sounded bad. Berrystar quickly passed the young tom and ran along the age-old paths that she knew by heart. Soon the thick elms, maples, and oak trees gave way to thin, wispy aspens and birches. The dry dirt of the forest became slightly wetter. Tall grasses, reeds, and cattails soon became so thick she had to slow her pace.

Then, all at once, it gave way to a bare rock shore. Smooth rounded stones and the occasional boulder were all that dotted the banks of the Great River. To her left, towards BreezeClan's territory, she could just make out the roar of the Waterfall. But she headed for the right. It didn't take long for the island to come into view. A massive tree trunk was the only bridge for her to cross. It was slick and smooth from too many seasons to tell. The only reason it didn't get washed out to sea was the fact that it was wedged between three huge rocks. Two rocks on the island's side and one on the mainland's side. Long scratches marked where cats had slipped, and sometimes fallen, on the log. She raced across the trunk until she was safe in the grasses on the opposite shore.

Quickly she made her way to the center of the island, FourRivers. Two towering oak trees dominated the clearing here, with large flat rocks creating small platforms surrounding the trees. Several thick branches shot out over the rocks, offering shade in the midday heat.

But Berrystar wasn't looking for shade. Perched on the thickest branches were two leaders of the Clans. Aspenstar of OceanClan, and Finchstar of BreezeClan. Two good friends of hers.

"Why did you call me here?" she called when she was finally in hearing distance.

They looked at her sadly before Finchstar replied, "We have received a devastating prophecy meant for your clan."

Berrystar looked at both of them incredulously, "Why would a prophecy for my clan be sent to you? It wasn't meant for OceanClan or MarshClan was it?"

Aspenstar shook his head, "No, I don't understand why we were given it. Maybe it'll affect our clans in the future."

"Well, what is it?" she replied annoyed.

Finchstar nodded and looked at Berrystar straight in her emerald eyes. His voice grew deeper and echoed around the small clearing, "_Where there was hope, now there is despair, where full nests thrive, now they will empty. Beware the waters that consume. Beware the green. Do not forget those that seem insignificant. SunClan must fulfill its ultimate destiny. SunClan will die_." The last words seemed to shake the branches and leaves flew down around Berrystar, blocking the sunlight and sending shadows everywhere.

She looked from Finchstar to Aspenstar in shock, "My clan's destiny cannot be to die. They've been doing so well down there. There have been so little fights or threats. How can SunClan be doomed?"


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

The leaves crunched under Feathertail's paws as she raced through the tall oak trees to the riverbank. Evening sunlight filtered through the ever-thinning canopy of leaves above her. Bright colors of reds, oranges, and yellows covered her vision. Every now and then a chill breeze would whisper by and send the leaves flying through the air like sparrows. This was Feathertail's favorite time.

Leaves danced around her legs as she continued to race along. Soon she arrived at her destination. The river was wide and moving slowly. Carefully she padded up to its bank and peered in. Although SunClan cats rarely ever fished she knew that she must try. Ever since Hawkstar had become leader he had been trying out all sorts of new tactics. Her brother really was quite inventive.

She could see the fish swimming gracefully through the water, slowly idling past as they made their way to the ocean. She waited for what seemed like a lifetime until one ventured close to the bank. It lazily began swimming towards her, unaware of her presence. Quicker than lightning she struck her paw into the river, sending up a large, cold, splash of water. Her claws touched the scales and she flicked it out. It flopped for several seconds before Feathertail quickly bit hard on its spine. It tasted odd and it was very slippery.

She had finally caught her first fish. Every other warrior in her clan had caught one and she had finally been determined enough to catch one. She couldn't wait until she showed it to Rockclaw. Even her daughter, Leopardkit, would love to see it. She picked it up in her jaws and awkwardly began carrying it back to camp. It was large and heavy so she tripped several times when it caught on a branch or thorn.

Finally she made it back to SunClan camp. Mosquitoes were buzzing around her head as she slowly stumbled through the thorn tunnel and into the clearing. Lightning bugs were lighting up the wide area as she first dropped off the fish in the fresh-kill pile and then made her way to the nursery. It was too late to show Rockclaw and Leopardkit her kill; they would have to wait until tomorrow. The breeze picked up once more, bringing not the crisp scent of leaves that she expected, but the chilly scent of leaf-bare. Snow would be covering the landscape within a moon.

"Out a little late, aren't we?" a voice sounded from the shadows.

Feathertail nearly jumped, the voice scared her so much, "Who's there?"

Reedfur slowly padded out from under an overhanging tree branch, "Just me. What were you doing out so late?"

"I didn't mean to be, I was just hunting. And what are you doing?" she countered. The black tom always sounded so accusing.

"Hunting." His voice lingered on the word, causing Feathertail to think that his word was untrue.

"Really? Well then, where's the kill?"

He laughed, "I didn't have as much luck as you did apparently. No prey out today."

Feathertail rolled her eyes, there was definitely prey out in the forest, she had seen it. But, not wanting to start anything with him she just started walking away.

"Good night then Feathertail. Sweet dreams…" his voice trailed off as he entered into the warriors' den and she into the nursery. Why did he always have to be so creepy?

Inside the nursery it was warm and cozy, reinforced by soft moss, feathers, and twigs. Brindlenose slept on the edge of the queens, her kits were just starting to show in her growing belly. Fallowshine, Yellowbird, and Rosebloom's kits were snuggled close together in the center of the den, their mothers surrounding them. Fernfeather's smaller kits were nuzzled tightly against their mother. Feathertail spotted Leopardkit pressed up against Rosebloom, sound asleep. She slowly padded over, careful not to trip on any kits, until she was next to Fernfeather. She circled in her nest of moss before she lay down and fell asleep.

She was standing in a bright green field surrounded by wild flowers. The mountains soared high into the air in the distance. Closer to her was the lush forest, full of tweeting birds and other prey. She spotted a vibrant butterfly as it sailed past her on graceful, thin wings. Chasing after it she batted it down to the ground and pinned it there, watching it struggle against her paws. A helpless creature caught in the predator's claws. She couldn't bear to hurt it so she let it go.

Suddenly, the clear blue sky became covered with clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as great drops of rain began to tumble out of the sky. Louder than the thunder was a voice from the clouds, growing louder every second. It sounded foreign and odd, as though from a different time, "_Waters that swallow and nests become bare. Green that kills and the small destroy. SunClan will die….SunClan will die_." The voice echoed and ricocheted around Feathertail's ears, deafening her. She shook in her paws as something began to hit her side. She looked over but nothing was there. It hit her again and her eyes flew open. It was only a dream.

Leopardkit was barreling into her side, bouncing with excitement. Racing around in circles at the sight of her awake she shouted, "Guess what? Guess what?"

Feathertail sighed, "Calm down Leopardkit! You're nearly an apprentice, now start acting like one, what is it?"

"There's this wet white stuff covering the clearing! Oakkit says that it's something called snow, but I don't believe him. He said that it fell from the sky and is exactly like rain because his mama told him that. But that can't be true can it?" She took a deep breath as she finished her sentence and looked imploringly up at her mother with large eyes.

Feathertail rolled her eyes, "Oakkit was right, it is called snow and it's very, very cold rain."Leopardkit looked up at her disbelievingly. "Come on, let's go out there."

The little kit barreled out of the nursery, nearly tripping on Nettlekit. She raced into the clearing straight into a pile of snow as big as herself. Brownkit started laughing as she pulled herself out and shook herself off.

"Does the big bad snow scare you Leopardkit?" he sneered in-between guffaws of laughter.

"No!" Leopardkit raced up to him and shoved him hard on his side, sending him rolling head of paws into Hawkstar.

Feathertail ran up, righting Brownkit back onto his paws. "I'm terribly sorry Hawkstar; you know how kits can be."

He looked down on the patched tom as he said, "Yes, they can be a little like a root sticking out of the path can't they." He chuckled. "Just make sure that you try to be more careful, you don't want to offend anyone, do you?"

Brownkit looked at his paws ashamed, "Yes Hawkstar, ok." He mumbled.

Feathertail looked up from the small kit to notice Rockclaw returning from the dawn patrol, jaws laden with three mice. She raced up to him beaming, "You'll never guess what I caught last night!"

He dropped his prey on the fresh-kill pile and looked back up at her grinning, "What?"

She thought for a second before calling Leopardkit over. Rockclaw looked confused for a second before her kit ran up to her paws, "Yes mama?"

"Ok. So last night I went for a late night hunt. I was by the river when I caught a fish!"

Leopardkit bounced around Feathertail, "Really?! That was your fish on the pile this morning?!" Rockclaw licked between her ears and gave her a warm smile.

"Yes that was her fish. We knew all along that you could do it Feathertail."

Leopardkit looked up at her father, "Nuh-uh. You said yourself that mother could never catch a fish."

"Leopardkit, shush. I never said anything of the sort." He looked away hurriedly, "Oh, I think Blackear is calling me. Well got to go, bye." He ran over to where the deputy was organizing patrols.

"Why don't you go and play in the nursery with Petalkit and Squirrelkit. I have to go see someone."

She looked up at her for a moment, as if to argue, but turned around and sprinted into the den.

As Feathertail made her way to the medicine cat den she noticed the camp slowly coming to life. Silverpaw followed close at the paws of her mentor, Patchpelt, as they padded towards the training area. The grumbles of the elders became even louder as she neared their den, which was behind the medicine cat den. She chuckled to herself, wondering how they survived their own complaints. And speaking of complaints, Lilystream was in the midst of a whining conversation with Fernfeather.

"…had a little cough."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. Nettlekit probably had a little kitten-cough. It'll pass in a couple of days."

"But what if it isn't!" Fernfeather protested.

"Trust me, it'll pass." Lilystream insisted.

Fernfeather stalked past Feathertail fuming. She turned to look at her den mate as she headed back to the nursery. She hadn't heard her kits cough at all.

"Lilystream, I need to talk to you."

The medicine cat looked up from her herbs, "Can you believe her? Questioning a medicine cat over what she _thinks_ is a sickness! Honestly!"

Feathertail smiled, "Fernfeather's a worrywart. Everyone knows that, even Redfoot."

"Still, I know I haven't been medicine cat for moons and moons and moons, but you'd think she would know to trust me." Lilystream snorted and continued sorting out various herbs into piles.

"Um, I was wondering if I could tell you something." Feathertail asked timidly.

"Oh! I completely ignored you! Yes, what is it?"

"I had a troubling dream last night." She recounted her dream to Lilystream, not leaving out a single detail.

"That does sound bad doesn't it?" She looked confused, "Let me think about its meaning. I'm not sure, but you might've received a message from StarClan. I don't know why they would give one to you, but there must be a reason. I'll think about it, thank you."

Feathertail was worried by how much Lilystream looked alarmed by her message. It was just a dream after all, wasn't it? Nothing bad could come by it. It was probably just a bad mouse that made it so vivid. She pushed her thoughts away and started out of the den.

"Wait!" she stopped, "Do you know where Blackear is?" Lilystream asked.

Featheretail thought back to the patrols he had assigned the previous day, "I think he's supposed to be on a border patrol with a couple others. Nothing big though, just the BreezeClan cliff. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check up on a sore pad was all."

"Okay then." Feathertail left the medicine den. She hadn't heard Blackear complaining at all. When Blackear complained, it was always loud. She then padded over to where Willowfall was grooming herself. Her eldest daughter's sleek coat shone in the midday sunlight. She looked up warmly to her mother as she approached her.

"So, has Fernfeather come to you about anything?" Fernfeather was one of her daughter's closest friends, and they shared everything.

"Yes she did. Apparently Nettlekit has got a cough. She said that it kept her up all night worrying." Willowfall looked skeptical yet worried.

Feathertail rolled her eyes, "Typical Fernfeather, always worrying about everything. I'm sure she just swallowed a bit of fur."

"Is that all you wanted?"

Feathertail looked around quickly to see if anyone else was listening in on their conversation, "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"What?" Willowfall asked.

"I…I had an odd dream last night and I was wondering if you could help me with it." Willowfall was gifted in interpretations but not so in herbs. That was why she was a warrior instead of a medicine cat.

She nodded her head in agreement, "Make it quick though, I have a patrol soon with Redfoot."

After she recounted her dream again, her daughter had the same worried look on her visage as Lilystream did. Willowfall looked up at her mother, troubled by what she had just heard, "Have you had any other dreams like that one or was that the only one?"

"That's the only unusual dream I've ever had. It frightened me so much and it was so realistic, like it actually happened."

As her daughter left for her hunting patrol Feathertail wondered. Was her dream just that, a dream? Or was it a prophecy sent from StarClan? She closed her eyes tight and just hoped that none of her dream came true. If it did, her clan was doomed.

When she walked in she noticed that Brindlenose was all alone in the nursery. She padded over to her and sat next to her, "So where's Longwhisker? I never see him in here."

Brindlenose cast an uncomfortable glance across the clearing where her mate was talking to Aspentail, "He comes in here sometimes, he's just so busy."

Something didn't seem right to Feathertail. The way she was looking at him signaled that there was something deeper between them "Is everything all right? You make it sound as if-"

"I don't think we should discuss this here right now." Brindlenose whispered in a quick and hushed voice.

"Well, where then?"

She glanced over to where Fernfeather was cleaning her two kits, "Just wait until everybody's gone. I know I can trust you, but I'm not so sure about anyone else."

Several minutes later the nursery was emptied. Fernfeather had gone to get something to eat and taken her kits with her. Feathertail turned back towards the pregnant queen, "Now what is it that's bothering you?"

Her tail twitched nervously and she shifted in her nest, "I...I think that Longwhisker is meeting with another cat." She said slowly.

"Like from SunClan?" Feathertail asked warily.

Brindlenose shook her head, "No, from BreezeClan I think."

Feathertail replied urgently, "That's a serious accusation Brindlenose! You have to have some sort of evidence to back you up."

She looked sadly into Feathertail's eyes, "Unfortunately I do. Nearly a half moon ago I followed him out of camp-"

"You shouldn't have, Lilystream ordered rest for you!"

Brindlenose replied frustrated, "Just let me finish will you?" she nodded her head in consent, "Alright. I followed him all the way to the cliff-side border with BreezeClan. He went straight up to the rock face then disappeared."

"What? That doesn't make any sense! Cats can't just walk through rock." she stated confused.

Brindlenose gave a slight laugh, "It didn't make any sense to me either. So, I went up to where he was. It turns out there's a tunnel hidden by some old plants."

"Did you catch him?"

"No, I waited underneath some pine trees until he came out again. After he was back in the forest I snuck into the tunnels. I followed it all the way up to a cave behind the waterfall. It was full of the distinct smell of SunClan and BreezeClan."

The two were quiet for a moment as Feathertail registered what she had just heard. Brindlenose had discovered an illegitimate relationship between clans. It was forbidden and wrong and it completely went against the warrior code!


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Feathertail shivered as she stepped out of the nursery. Fresh snow coated the camp with a glistening white cover. Looking up she noticed the branches were covered in a thick layer of frost. Grey smudges of clouds stewed over her head, threatening to drop even more snow. Ice patches dotted the clearing randomly, claw marks indicating where cats had slipped on them.

She trotted over to the fresh-kill hole. Glancing in she only saw a single, tiny bird. Obviously the hunting patrol had been less than successful. How were they going to provide for such a large clan with so little prey? Her mate, Rockclaw, trotted over to where she was sitting, "Take it to the nursery Feathertail, the queens need it more than any warrior does."

"I know you're right Rockclaw, but I was just thinking…how is the clan going to survive? We have so little food, and on top of that, there's already greencough!"

He looked towards the medicine cat den where Nettlekit and Greenkit were. They had caught whitecough early on, near the very end of Leaf-fall. Then, as soon as the last leaf fell from the forest they contracted greencough. Now it was the middle of Leaf-bare. There was no food, no warmth. They were just barely hanging on. Fallowshine was already beginning to wheeze and so were several warriors.

She picked up the bird in her jaws and made her way back to the nursery. The kits were always hungry and wanting more. Leopardkit was so thin before, and now she was nothing more than skin-and-bones. She passed Fernfeather in the entrance, "We're going to split the bird if you want some," looking at her ribs protruding from her side, "you need some."

"I'll get a bite when I get back. Nettlekit and Greenkit need me right now."

Feathertail sighed. How was she going to keep those two kits alive if she wasn't trying to keep herself alive? The interior of the den was warm and cozy. Oakkit and Brownkit were already awake and playing with Leopardkit. Squirrelkit was sneaking up on Oakkit's tail as Firekit distracted them. She chuckled, even in a time of such hardships, kits could still have fun. She walked over to where Fallowshine was resting with Yellowbird, Rosebloom, Brindlenose, and Deerswift. Deerswift had recently joined the nursery and her belly was already swollen. Placing the bird in front of them she noticed how large Brindlenose had gotten.

"I know she won't eat any, but leave some for Fernfeather. Force her to eat something before she starves."

Rosebloom looked from the bird to her as she spoke, "And what about you Feathertail? You need to eat too."

"I know. I'm honestly not hungry."

"Mouse dung. Eat something." Yellowbird said.

"If you care so much, I'll eat something if the patrol brings anything back." Feathertail said over her shoulder as she padded back out into the dull light of the clearing.

"Huh, 'if'," Yellowbird muttered under her breath, "there's always an 'if'."

She rolled her eyes; Yellowbird always was looking at the darker side of subjects lately. "Hey, Brindlenose, Do you want to go for a walk?"

Brindlenose looked up from the bird, "Uh, sure."

Feathertail waited as she got to her feet and slowly stepped over to her. The two left the warm den and made their way out of camp. They went for a while without talking, just walking. As soon as they got far enough out of camp Feathertail turned towards her companion, "I followed Longwhisker out of camp several nights ago like you asked me."

"Thank you. I would've gone myself but it's getting harder and harder to go long distances."

She glanced at Brindlenose's swollen belly, "Yah, you'll be kitting soon. Anyways, I went in behind Longwhisker and peeked inside the cavern that you told me about."

Brindlenose looked down at the cold earth, "Did you see who it was?" she whispered.

"I have a guess, but it was quite dark when I looked. You've seen how cloudy it's been lately." She answered.

The queen nodded her head, "Yes, if only the moon could be out."

"I think it was Ambereyes." Ambereyes was a golden furred she-cat with blood-red eyes. She was known for her fierce personality. How Longwhisker got tied up with her was a mystery.

She looked shocked, "Ambereyes," Brindlenose shook her head back and forth, "if it was someone from SunClan I would understand, but a warrior from a different clan… I just don't understand."

Feathertail felt how sad she was, "I'm sorry. I really am, but I think we should get back to camp again, it looks like snow again."

She nodded and they made their way back. The trip back took much longer than before. Brindlenose's heavy steps were sullen and bleak. Her mood was even less than pleasant.

As soon as they stepped back through the thorn barrier the air was pierced by a long low mourning sound. Feathertail rushed towards the medicine cat den. She slowly walked inside. Fernfeather was moaning next to the small stiff bodies of two kits. They were curled up against each other, seemingly asleep. Lilystream sat ashamed in the corner, Thrushpaw was looking at the two in shock.

"Fernfeather…" She pressed her body against hers as the thin queen lost her ability to stand and collapsed. "I'm so sorry…so sorry…"

The tabby she-cat struggled up and slowly limped to the entrance. Lilystream rummaged through her store of herbs, searching for the correct ones for depression. Fernfeather slowly made her way to the nursery, one paw-step at a time. Feathertail helped her lay down in her nest as the queen stared into the distance, oblivious to the world surrounding her.

The kits had ceased to play and were gathered in the corner by Rosebloom. Yellowbird and Brindlenose lay down on either side of her to comfort her. Deerswift came to where Feathertail was standing in the entrance to the nursery. "Which one…"

Her voice was thick with grief as she said, "Both." Deerswift gasped at the revelation. StarClan had claimed two kits in one morning.

Feathertail padded towards the medicine cat den again. She knew Lilystream was going to blame their deaths on herself. She had been the first to brush off their earliest symptoms, and she had tried her hardest to save them. She walked into the den where the heavy scent of preserving herbs coated the air. Thrushpaw was gone and only Lilystream, the kits, and she remained inside.

"Lilystream. It wasn't your fault. No one could've known that they were that sick." She looked up at her friend, eyes stricken with sadness.

"I'm not ashamed because of them; it's something else entirely…"

"What do you mean, you lost two kits! What can be worse than that?" She regretted she had said those accusing words from the moment that they left her lips.

But it was if the medicine cat didn't hear anything. Lilystream stepped aside to reveal a tiny pile of leaves. They were withered and brown on the edges. "I'm out of catmint. These leaves are no good anymore. If I had only had more I could've saved those two, but all I could give them was some juniper leaves, and now I'm out of that too!" Lilystream was furious with herself, shaking her head as her voice escalated.

"I'm sure we might be able to find some more in the forest, there must be a few left somewhere."

The medicine cat looked up with horror in her eyes and her voice was thick and shaking, "That's just it…there is none. I sent Thrushpaw out several days ago to look for some. He searched the entire forest, but all of it is dead."

Feathertail's voice was low and quiet, "Does anyone else show signs of greencough or whitecough?"

Lilystream averted her eyes, "Several…warriors, apprentices, queens…I just don't know what I'm going to do." Her voice was barely a whisper now and getting softer, "If I can't heal my clan, what kind of medicine cat am I? These two were only the first; I know there's going to be more."

"Have you told Hawkstar yet?"

Shame filled her voice, "Not yet, no. How can I when even he is showing signs of sickness. Blackear might know though."

"Listen Lilystream, you have to tell Hawkstar before Blackear does, it's your responsibility. Maybe he'll send out a patrol to the other clans. I'm sure some of them must have a little spare."

"You don't understand, do you? When the clan finds out that I knew what they had and wasn't able to treat them, they're going to hate me. They'll ban me from the clan and I absolutely cannot have that happen. Thrushpaw isn't ready to be a full medicine cat; he's too young and inexperienced. At least right now I can give them some sort of herb to ease their pain."

Feathertail looked at her friend in horror, "How could you say that?! They'd never ban you, you're too well liked. We'd all understand that you tried to save them and you did the best you could," suddenly, Feathertail knew what she had to do, "If you won't tell Hawkstar, then I will." She strode out of the den quickly and made her way towards the Leader's den.

Lilystream caught up to her when she was halfway there, "No Feathertail, please!" She looked down at the hard earth, "Fine, I'll tell him." They proceeded on their way to the leader's den, fear coming off of Lilystream in waves.

Both she-cats could hear him coughing from across the clearing. Hawkstar's den was just as cold, if not colder, as the world outside of it. Feathertail watched her breath puff out in small clouds and disappear into air after a moment or so. "Hawkstar? May I speak with you, it's quite urgent."

"Please do so, come in."

Feathertail nodded to Lilystream. She then explained the tough situation she was in. No catmint anywhere meant death for the clan.

His eyes flickered with momentary fear before he said, "I'll call a meeting, send a patrol, and hopefully we'll be able to find some…I hope." They both nodded their heads and exited his den. Hawkstar bounded carefully up the slippery boulders to the Highstump in the middle of the clearing. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join her beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting."

The clan slowly assembled, some coughing and wheezing, some quick and agile. The cats were getting sicker by the moment. Hawkstar noticed this too as his eyes were full of concern. When the last cat had finally sat down he began, "Cats of SunClan, we've faced danger before and we're no strangers to hardships. Now we face one that our ancestor's ancestors have faced along with some of you. Greencough has begun its deadly assault yet again. We have already had two fatalities, and we don't want any more." He paused, letting his words sink in, "Unfortunately, Lilystream has informed me that we do not have an adequate amount of catmint. Does anyone want to volunteer for a search party for the herb?"

The cats were silent for a moment before they began to murmur amongst themselves. Suddenly, several cats stood up in the crowd; Blackear, Patchpelt and his apprentice, Silverpaw, Tansyheart, Birchface, and Longwhisker.

Hawkstar looked down on them from his perch, "Is there anyone else?" He waited a moment before it was confirmed by the eerie silence, unbroken by no coughing. "Very well then, you five, you will go first to the outskirts of the territory to make sure there's none growing by the twoleg place. After that, make your way to the OceanClan camp, then MarshClan, then BreezeClan. May StarClan light your paths."

They were about to leave when Tansyheart began to cough violently. She was coughing so hard that it brought blood to her lips and she collapsed, shaking violently. Lilystream rushed up on her and began to massage her side, soothing her coughs. After what seemed like a century Lilystream pressed her ear against the young warrior's side.

"I think she'll be fine for now, but her cough is too advanced. I don't want her to move or go anywhere. Could somebody help me carry her to my den?" Rockclaw and Tigerdapple carefully lifted her up and carried her to the medicine cat den. Meanwhile, the patrol was at a standstill, shocked that she had collapsed like she did.

Hawkstar looked to them, "What are you waiting for? Do you want her cured or not, go!" They looked at their leader; Blackear nodded his head and signaled with his tail for the rest of the group to follow his lead.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Silverpaw followed her mentor out of the thorn tunnel and into the cold, bare forest. Snow crunched under her paws as she made her way along the slippery paths that would lead them out of SunClan territory. Blackear was at the lead, followed by Longwhisker, then Patchpelt and herself. Tansyheart should've been behind them, but her coughing had left her at camp. She had seemed perfectly fine before they left, but she had been stricken by it in a blink of an eye. In the back of her mind she was grateful though, grateful that her friend wasn't dead.

"Let's speed up; I want to get to the border before sun-high." Blackear ordered, picking up his pace as he spoke.

Silverpaw caught up to Patchpelt, her long legs carrying her farther than his older ones. "Do you think that the outbreak is going to be bad?"

He looked at her with his wizened old eyes, "I can't say that I've seen one worse than this, but I'm sure we'll find a cure soon." Silverpaw fell behind satisfied with his answer. Patchpelt harbored his last words, unable to speak them in fear that his apprentice would hear. _I only hope…_

Silverpaw glanced at the forest around her. The tall, thick trees that she was used to were beginning to thin out. In the place of large oaks there were thin wispy aspens. Their bare branches covered the grey sky like empty bare bones. Large piles of snow covered their limbs, threatening to fall at any moment. The thought of getting colder and wetter than she already was made her quicken her pace.

All at once the trees stopped, revealing a wide open meadow. Further away a small thunderpath cut through it. Silverpaw stretched herself as high as she could and she could just spot the lights of the twoleg place in the far distance.

"Come, let's check near here first, and then we'll go to the other territories." Blackear said as he started to trot off into the meadow. Every now and then he'd stop and scratch at the snow looking for the critical herb. Although he didn't say it, Silverpaw knew that he desperately did not want to go to OceanClan and appear weak. That would only open them up for attacks.

She looked around the open area where her clan mates were digging through the hard packed snow and ice. Sighing she began the hard work. She sniffed around the snow, searching for that sweet smell that was catmint. Suddenly, a tiny scent pricked her nose. She started to dig with all her might, plowing through the tough ice underneath the fluffy snow. After what seemed like a lifetime she felt the frozen earth under her claws. Wiping away the last of the snow she looked down. A large amount of catmint was poking through the dirt. Her face fell, despair welled up inside of her; all of it was shriveled up and brown…dead. Glancing at the patrols' faces she knew that they had gotten similar results.

"There's no catmint anywhere…" she uttered softly, complaining to herself. Shaking her head she looked up, straight into the face of an unfamiliar cat. She shrieked and jumped into the air terrified.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" the brown tabby tom apologized. His accent was different, thicker and more fluid and smooth.

"I-I'm not scared! It's just that you shouldn't sneak up on cats like that!" She quickly defended herself, "What are you doing trespassing on SunClan's territory anyway?"

"Well, I saw you scratching at the ground and it looked…err…curious."

Her anger flared again, "We're not weird you know, we're helping our clan!"

He spoke calmly, like a mother to a kit, "I never said you were weird."

Silverpaw took a steadying breath to calm her, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge right now. Who are you?"

He smirked, "I think I deserve to know who just accused me of something I didn't say first."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm Silverpaw, an apprentice of SunClan. Now who are you?"

He was just about to reply when a quick yowl arose, "Hey! Intruder!" It was Patchpelt. The rest of the patrol quickly gathered.

Blackear stepped forward menacingly, "What do you want?"

The poor loner looked utterly bewildered, "I just saw you all scratching at the ground and I'd came to ask what you were doing."

"That's none of your business to know. Now, go before we have to chase you off."

"Well, wait just a second!" he replied hotly, "I heard Silverpaw there say something about catmint," pointing his tail at her. Her face flushed before he added, "is that anything like catnip?"

Blackear gave Silverpaw a quick, severe look, "Yes, I would suppose that it is the same thing."

Sensing how urgent the need for it was he replied, "Well, I have some at my housefolk's den."

Silverpaw's ear perked up at this. If they could get some of it they could save their clan mates!

Blackear was looking at the lanky tom directly, "Would we be able to get some of it?"

He looked away embarrassed, "Um…well…not at the moment, but maybe in a moon or so."

"We don't have a moon!" Silverpaw wailed, unable to contain herself any longer.

Patchpelt turned around to stare at her, "Silverpaw, shush! Never do that again!" She looked down at her paws; ashamed that she had lost her cool.

"I would try to get it to you sooner, but it's too dangerous for a large number of cats to pass through Off's territory. He would come and kill you!" the tabby explained.

"Off?" Longwhisker asked, "What's an 'Off'?"

The tabby stared at Longwhisker in shock, "You've never heard of Offenseur and his rogues?! That's impossible; they've been torturing cats around here for moons now!"

Patchpelt replied annoyed, "Can you just explain what in StarClan's name what an 'Off' is?!"

The tom gulped, "Er…yah, sorry. Well, he's the leader of a band of rogue cats. They patrol the entire twoleg place at all times. Going through his territory with this large of a number of cats would definitely attract his attention. It would be suicide."

Blackear looked at the rest of his weary patrol, exasperated, "Are you sure there's nothing we can work out sooner?"

"No, I'm sorry. If you give it a moon they'll have moved onto the other side of the twoleg place."

Silverpaw sighed, SunClan couldn't afford a moon. Two had already died and more were sure to follow. Blackear turned to his patrol. He thought for a moment before looking to the strange cat once more.

"Um…kittypet, what's your name again?" Blackear questioned.

"Oh, it's Jacques."

"Ok then, Jacques. Could you give my patrol and I a moment to decide our next move?"

Jacques saw how desperate they were and consented, "Of course, take as much time as you need."

Blackear looked at his clanmates, "What do you think we should do? On one paw if we went to OceanClan we could appear vulnerable and weak. On the other paw if we took Jacques's offer, we would have to wait awhile, but we would get the herbs." He shook his head, "I honestly don't know what to do."

Patchpelt spoke up, "I think we should take Jacques's offer. OceanClan is always looking for extra territory and if we went to them now we would appear vulnerable for an attack. More than likely, we would lose territory."

"Wait," Longwhisker interrupted, "If we went to OceanClan we could save more lives. If we stall for a moon more cats could possibly die!"

"But we don't even know if the other clans have any catmint left anyways, we could just be setting ourselves up for an attack going to the other clans." Birchface added.

"I agree with Patchpelt and Birchface." Silverpaw chimed in.

Blackear looked from the three of them to Longwhisker, "I'm sorry Longwhisker, but you're outvoted. We'll agree to the kittypet's offer and wait a while. This could be our only chance."

They turned back to where Jacques was busying himself washing his face. Blackear announced their verdict, "We accept your offer, kittypet. You will meet us here every half moon for an update on the rogues and when we may get to the…uh…_catnip_."

The tabby brightened up, "Great! I've always wanted to help you forest cats out, but I've never had the chance. I'll be here in a quarter moon."

The SunClan deputy suddenly became dreadfully serious, "If you're not, I will personally make sure that you are never able to see, smell, or walk again. Do you understand the stakes that our clan is at?"

Jacques answered back somberly, "Yes, of course."

"Good. I will make sure that no patrol chases you off. You are granted access to our territory at any time, so long as you bring no danger to the clan. And if you can bring some of the catmi- _catnip_ here sooner that would be best." Turning back to the SunClan cats, "Now, let's go back to camp."

They trotted quickly back into the shelter of the trees. Silverpaw glanced over her shoulder at the disappearing clearing. Jacques was just turning around and heading back towards his twoleg den. Silverpaw shuddered, how could a cat live with those odd creatures, let alone let them get anywhere near them. Most kittypets would never have anything to do with the 'evil, tough, mean' forest cats. But Jacques had been brave enough to come right up to them.

And yet there was something different about him. He seemed so different from any other cat she had met, so quirky and fun. She laughed to herself, she had just met him and she thought she knew him already.

Looking back towards her patrol she realized that she had been left behind. Her thoughts diverted she sprinted towards their trail. She had been going so fast that she practically tripped over a tiny coypu. She quickly skidded to a stop at looked at it. It was obviously a baby that had ventured too far from its nest. She quickly pounced on it and dispatched it easy and nice. The earth was too hard to bury her prey so she covered it up with snow to preserve it.

A baby as small as this one couldn't have wandered too far from its burrow into the forest. Scenting the air she sensed that she was close to the stream, where coypus mostly lived. It still had the strong smell of milk on it so it would have siblings…and a mother. Silverpaw pushed the thought of the large adult out of her mind and focused on the thought of more babies that would be easy prey. If she returned with enough food to feed the entire clan she would be hailed as a hero. She looked around and saw that its small paw prints in the snow led through the forest towards the OceanClan border.

The coypu's tracks were easy to follow. They skirted in and around the trees leading back to the stream. Several times she had to squeeze under large tree trunks and through thickets of thorns. When she neared the water she slowed down. Silverpaw could remember that Patchpelt had once warned her of the adult coypus. They had large front teeth and were even longer and larger than grown cats. Carefully she skirted around until she was downwind of the stream. She squinted at the bank looking for its well hidden burrow.

Suddenly, a huge female coypu popped out of the bank from inside several dead brambles. It turned its head this way and that before carefully sliding into the cold, freezing water. Its head and tail were visible for several moments before it disappeared underneath the water downstream. She could see the ripple left by the coypu even though it was underwater. Silverpaw watched it until it finally got far enough for her to start towards the brambles.

Silverpaw crept up on its den, quietly getting closer and closer. From the brambles came the sound of baby coypus, two from the sounds of it. She couldn't smell any more adults so she darted into the hole in the ground. It was dark and smelled earthy, but she went on until she came up on the two babies deep below the surface. They didn't put up a fight and soon she was dragging them up the slope of the hole.

When she finally emerged she picked them up by their long tails and tripped her way into the forest. The snow slowed her down even more. Every now and then she would scratch herself on an odd root or branch. She also tripped several times on tree roots hidden by the snow. Soon she found the first baby and picked up a third tail in her mouth. Luckily she was close to the camp from her spot.

As she dragged them along her thoughts drifted back to their earlier encounter. Jacques couldn't be far from her age, he was quite young. If he was a clan cat he would probably have just became a warrior. She couldn't stop herself from thinking of how sleek he looked. He wasn't pudgy like most kittypets. He almost looked like a clan cat. A small part of her was telling her that she shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this, but she couldn't help it. Did she like him?

Soon Silverpaw could smell her clan behind her. She had had to walk backwards just to drag her prey back to camp. Slowly she wound her way through the sharp thorn barrier into SunClan's camp clearing. Patchpelt was standing next to Hawkstar but when he saw her making her way to the fresh-kill pile he rushed over to her.

"Where in StarClan's name were you," looking at her prey he added, "and how did you get those?!"

By now half of the clan had gathered around her and her kill. She glanced, slightly uncomfortable, towards her brother, Molepaw, "Uh, well…I was trying to catch up to the patrol when I found this one," pointing her paw at the first coypu, "Then I followed its tracks to its burrow and found these ones." Indicating the last two.

Hawkstar stepped out from behind the crowd, "You caught three coypus, on your own, without being attacked by their mother?" he asked incredulously.

Silverpaw shifted her eyes between her mentor and her leader, "Yes."

Hawkstar looked to her and to Patchpaw, "Well done Silverpaw. I can honestly say that you are the only apprentice that I've known to catch three baby coypus from under their mother's nose. And seeing how large they are, this is quite impressive."

Her brother, Molepaw chirped out from behind Birchface, "How in StarClan's name did you do that? You're so puny!" Even though she couldn't see she could tell that her other brother, Thrushpaw, had given him a good shove.

Hawkstar then turned towards Patchpelt, "Do you think that Silverpaw is ready to be a warrior?"

Her mentor looked at Silverpaw before nodding his head.

"Very well then." Hawkstar leapt up onto the Highstump and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting!"

For Silverpaw the world slowed down. She couldn't believe it! She was going to be a warrior, and what's more, she was going to be a warrior before her brothers!

As soon as the clan had gathered Hawkstar began, "I, Hawkstar, leader of SunClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to a warrior in her turn." Hawkstar then turned to Silverpaw from his perch atop the Highstump, "Silverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend the clan, even at the cost of your life?"

This was it! Silverpaw was going to become a warrior with these two little words, "I do."

Hawkstar smiled and finished the ceremony, "Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Silverpaw, from this moment you will be known as Silverswirl. StarClan honors your loyalty and kindness, and we welcome you as a full member of SunClan." Hawkstar leapt down from his perch and rested his muzzle on top of her head. As nervous as she was, Silverswirl remembered to lick her leader's shoulder.

The rest of the clan joined in at welcoming her by calling out her new name, "Silverswirl, Silverswirl!" They filed past her and congratulated her. Molepaw and Thrushpaw gave her extra big smiles.

As Silverswirl made her way to the entrance for her vigil she looked up at the now dark night sky. Millions of small stars were scattered over the black, illuminating the clearing. She hoped that her mother, Iceleaf, was watching her from StarClan. If only she could've been here, then her warrior ceremony would be complete.

But for now she was content. She had helped her clan from starvation for at least a little bit, and she had become a warrior because of it. Her silver coat seemed to radiate light as she sat in her position at the edge of the thorn tunnel. She still couldn't believe it, she was a warrior!

Before long the clan was asleep. Clouds now covered the sky, completely blocking any light. The cold sharpened her senses acutely. Not one sound penetrated the quiet. Oddly she felt that she was not the only one awake. She scanned the camp to no avail. Twisting around towards the trees she saw two little lights of eyes in the forest behind her. Although she knew she should approach them she couldn't. A single moonbeam found its way through the clouds and illuminated the forest briefly.

The cat came forward through the dead branches into the light. It was the color of the night sky during green-leaf; dark blues, purples, yellows, and reds. Stars glittered all around it, swirling slowly like Silverpelt. Its ice-blue eyes stared unblinking at her. Shocked she watched as the stars in it began ascending towards the sky. Then it was gone. It was as if she knew who it was, but she couldn't remember.

She turned to the camp again. No one would believe her. Although she wanted to tell someone, she knew to keep it to herself. Silverswirl knew that she was going to see the cat again, whether she wanted to or not.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Silverswirl rose to her paws on the cold morning. Her breath puffed out of her and momentarily covered her vision. Snowflakes fell around her in large bunches. Soon the clearing would be covered in yet more drifts of snow. The pale morning light failed to illuminate the SunClan camp entirely, casting large shadows around her. From the medicine cat den came the ominous sounds of coughing.

She shivered in the cold of the den. Most of the warriors had already gone out hunting or on patrols. If they all didn't die of greencough it would be from starving. They especially needed more food for all the queens, kits, and elders.

She quietly walked out of the warrior's den towards Lilystream's den. Nearly everyone was sick, including her brother, Molepaw. The rest of the camp was deathly quiet. Nobody talked in their normal voices or shouted, everyone whispered. Food was nonexistent anymore. Some cats even resorted to eating any leaves they found. Silverswirl was determined not to fall to that level though.

She padded softly into the medicine cat den. Lilystream and Thrushpaw were stumbling to every patient that they could find. A warrior here a kit there and a queen somewhere in the corner. It was mayhem. She wove in between the sick until she found her brother at the back of the den. He was among the sickest of the cats, and his future was dim. Leaning down she gently groomed his fur and straightened out his nest.

He coughed once or twice before he made an attempt at speaking; "food" was the only word he could get out. Silverswirl nodded and made her way back out. The greencough cats were especially thin. She could see nearly every bone in their bodies, and it wasn't helping that they didn't have any catmint either.

She had been meeting with Jacques nearly every quarter moon since their last encounter. They were personal visits, and no one in the clan knew of them. Her guilt was overpowering, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Not ever.

The snow cascaded out of the sky like the waterfall on the Great River. The voice of Blackear at the head of the group was barely audible through the loud, screaming wind, "We're almost there! Just a little bit further, I'm sure!"

Longwhisker, who was closer to her, was easier to hear, "How do we know that a mere kittypet would venture out into a storm like this?! Even Hawkstar was against us coming!"

She could see a shadow of movement as the deputy turned around and looked into Longwhisker's face as he replied, "Hawkstar is sick, ok! If we don't get this herb, everyone, including Hawkstar, could perish! I'm the deputy and at the moment I have the highest authority. If you don't agree with what I say, then you can just turn around and try to find your way back." His amber eyes were unblinking as Longwhisker nodded his head in subjection.

"That's all fine and dandy, but if you don't mind, I'd like to get there so we can hurry up and get back to our warm dens!" Patchpelt shouted through the storm. After a moment of Blackear staring at Longwhisker, warning him, he turned back and continued to lead the way to the meadow. Even he couldn't argue with Patchpelt.

Silverswirl couldn't even believe it. Her own clanmates were beginning to turn against each other. The sickness was tearing them apart a little bit more every day. More and more cats were starting to get sick as the winter worsened. They had already had to miss one Gathering because their leader was too weak to take them there. Several cats had also died. Tansyheart hadn't made it past the quarter moon. Tortoiseshine, an older elder, was quick to go after Tansyheart. Cherrypaw was already at the brink of death. Lilystream had said that she was at StarClan's entrance already.

With one final step they were at the meadow's edge. Pure white was ahead of them. The falling snow was so thick that Silverswirl wasn't able to see the trees a couple of fox-lengths ahead of her. She could tell the Blackear had said something, but she couldn't hear. Her senses were overwhelmed with the howling wind, blinding whiteness, and the cold.

Suddenly she heard a whisper of sound in her ear. Eerily familiar… It was as if it was coming from the wind itself, too quiet to hear. All other sounds disappeared until only her breathing and the sound of the wind remained. The coldness was replaced by warmth seeping from all around her. She looked down at her paws as green grass sprouted from the pale snow. Softly it whispered again, "_Waters that consume…save them…save them before it takes them forever…" _Briefly she saw the star-cat again. It stared at her as it had before.

Suddenly the cold was back and worse than ever. Biting back a scream of terror she realized that she was back in the snow-ridden meadow, wind howling in her ears. Frantically she looked around and finally spotted three figures disappearing into the storm, further out in the meadow. She stumbled after them, trying to catch up. Just when she thought all hope was lost she slammed into something.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A voice grumbled.

Silverswirl was so startled that she jumped up straight in the air and knocked into the voice's head.

"Ow! I thought I told you to watch where you're going! Geez!"

"Oh, ow, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I just was trying to find my patrol!"

"Patrol? Hey, are you from SunClan?" The mystery cat asked.

"Er, yes. Who are you?"

"C'est moi, Jacques! I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

"Oh thank StarClan! C'mon, we have to find the patrol!" The blizzard was steadily increasing. The wind blew harder and the snow fell quicker. Jacques touched the tip of his tail to Silverswirl's side as she led the way towards the forest. The snow was quickly getting steeper and soon it was up to her belly fur.

What seemed like hours passed by with no luck. It was slow going so they probably hadn't gotten that far, but they weren't getting any closer to the forest. Silverswirl realized that they were probably heading in the direction of the thunderpath instead. She gradually made a wide loop so as not to alarm Jacques to the sudden change in direction. Soon the blizzard thinned out until she was able to see several tail-lengths in each direction. Unfortunately, the snow had wiped away all of their tracks from before and she didn't know which direction they were heading at all anymore.

Slowly she began to lose hope. With no tracks, no scent, and no sign of life she was doomed. The chilling cold was wearing her out, slowing her down. Jacques too was beginning to show signs of hypothermia, the thing that every cat feared in leaf-bare. After a moment or so she realized that she was heading uphill…then downhill. She must be in BreezeClan territory!

Suddenly it all made sense! The hills, no trees, nothing in sight at all, it had to be BreezeClan's territory. Knowing that she would have to wait until the snow was over she came up with an idea. It was an age old tactic used by cats for generations to avoid freezing to death.

She turned to Jacques, "Ok, I know wh-where we are, but we have to s-stop for n-now."

His teeth chattered as he gave a broken reply, "Wh-what f-f-for? We've al-already made it th-this far!"

"J-just listen! We h-have to dig a h-hole in the sn-snow right now."

Jacques merely rolled his eyes but complied. Silverswirl found an especially deep drift of snow and signaled for him to start there. With both of them working together they were able to get a deep enough hole for the both of them to fit into in no time. The hard work was also enough to warm them up.

"Ok now, climb in." she ordered.

Jacques looked at her in shock, "What! What if it collapses on us? And if we're just sitting in there we'll surely freeze!"

"Just shut up and get in!" she shouted as she pushed him head first into the hole.

When she made her way in she covered up the entrance with snow. Now they were in a little cave under the snow.

In the dark she heard Jacques begin to complain again, "It's so cold in here! I swear we're going to be frozen! Je vais mourir!"

"Oh my StarClan, shut up! You are so annoying when you are complaining. And also, how is it that you can't even bring us any catmint at all! You meet us every quarter moon and you don't even bring any!"

Jacques was silent for a moment, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. If you want to be warmer we'll have to get closer." In the dark they found their way to the center and pressed their flanks together. Embarrassment poured off of her in waves. She could tell that Jacques felt the same.

He cleared his throat and began, "So, um, Silverpaw…how bad is the sickness?"

"Well, it's Silverswirl now, and it's bad. We've already lost four cats. Two of them were kits."

"Oh, that is bad. I'm sorry that I'm no help."

She gave him a gentle push, "It's not all your fault. We should've gone to other clans before the snow got so bad. Now all the routes to the other territories are blocked off."

There was another awkward pause for a moment or so before he started again, "So, why did your name change?"

She chuckled, "I forgot, you wouldn't know would you? Well, I was an apprentice when we first met and now I'm a full warrior." Sensing his confusion she explained, "I was training how to serve the clan before, and now I'm not. It's a little confusing."

"I think I get it, sorta."

A question suddenly popped into Silverswirl's head, "You don't look like any kittypets I've ever seen before. Most of them are, well, fat."

He laughed, "Yah, well, most house folk don't let kittypets out, but mine do. Mine let me wander around the city during the day and let me catch my own food."

"Well that makes sense now. Your almost half-kittypet and half-loner."

The question and answer went on for what seemed like ages. During that time they became closer and more comfortable with each other. They laughed together and cried together. Silverswirl could feel the night pass away and the day pass and grow late yet again. All the time the storm raged on. They had to dig their way out several times to get air, but most of the time they stayed warm under the snow. They fell asleep only once and when they woke up they began talking again.

At the end of their first full day in the den Jacques looked down at Silverswirl, "You know, can I admit something to you?"

"Sure, what?"

He gave a small smile, "Remember back to the first time we met. There were plenty of cats around that meadow, but I went to you. It wasn't because I thought you looked the least threatening, or because you were the smallest, it was because I thought you were, er…pretty." At the end of his little speech he looked away embarrassed.

She turned herself so that she was facing him. She brushed her tail on his back to get his attention, "I felt the same way."

He smiled and rubbed his cheek against hers warmly. Even though she knew that her clan was sick she couldn't help but think that this was the happiest she had ever been. Just Jacques and herself. No greencough, no anger, no death. They curled up together in the dark. Even through their happiness she could tell that they were both tired.

The quiet stretched on and on into eternity. At some point they both must've fallen asleep because Silverswirl awoke in the same green meadow as before. The starry cat was standing again at the edge of the clearing, staring at her and shaking its head. Its midnight-sky pelt shone brightly against the blue sky and full trees. Silverswirl ran after it, trying to catch up but the meadow kept getting larger and larger. With a sigh she realized that she would never be able to catch the cat.

Her eyes flew open in the waking world this time in pitch blackness. She could sense Jacques opposite her, still sleeping. There was no sound from outside at all. No sound…no storm!

"Jacques, wake up, hurry!" Her excited mew filled the small space and he sat up with a start, sending snow flying everywhere.

"What?! What's going on?" he asked quickly and anxiously.

"I think it's safe for us to go out again." She pushed against the area where they had come in. More snow had piled on top but she eventually broke her way through. For a few confusing seconds she was blinded until her eyes adjusted to the never ending whiteness surrounding her. She was pushed out of the hole by her companion pushing his way out.

In the distance the mountains rose high into the freezing air. Turning around she saw the ocean in the opposite direction. Closer though was the forest. Its bare branches were covered in giant piles of white. The Great River flowed steadily into the ocean at a leisurely pace. Tracing a route with her eyes she turned once again to Jacques.

"Alright, I'm going to SunClan's camp and you're going to your twoleg den, ok? I don't want you to get hurt."

He shook himself before replying, "Fine. I promise that the next time we meet I'll bring catmint or I'll bring you to it."

Thinking quick she added, "I love you Jacques."

He looked at her, eyes full of affection, "Et Je t'aime aussi. I promise that I'll see you soon." He licked her shoulder before turning back around to begin his trek back to the twoleg place.

She nodded her head at headed out back towards SunClan camp, full of hope. Although she didn't know the next time they would meet she was going to hold him to his promise. When a cat promised something, they would never go back on it. At least that's how it was in SunClan. Maybe no more in her clan would die…

Silverswirl shook her head and again headed to the entrance of SunClan camp. She loved him, more than anything. Yet, he hadn't been able to bring any catmint. His descriptions of escaping sent chills down her spine. More than three times he had nearly been caught by Off.

She knew now more than ever of the ruthless cat's cold-blooded murders. Talon, essentially his second in command, had killed a helpless kit just for the fun of it. Then, he had forced its mother to be his mate. Her name was Ruisseau. The size of their force was now about twenty strong…and growing…

And now, in SunClan, more and more cats were succumbing to the sickness.

Fallowshine had succumbed to the disease. Feathertail had taken in Fallowshine's kits. That would be temporary though as Brownkit and Oakkit should've been apprentices by now. If Hawkstar wasn't sick he probably would've already appointed them their mentors. But for now their clan was on hiatus. Nothing was happening besides death. Even those who weren't sick were weak. Whether it was from hunger, exhaustion, or depression it was impossible to tell the difference.

She could only fight to keep her clan alive, and if that meant hunting for everyone else besides herself, that's what she had to do. As she headed out of the thorn barrier an image crept up on the edge of her vision. She knew that if she looked up it would disappear once again. The starry cat was always watching her. Silverswirl couldn't figure it out but she knew that the cat was important. Her theory was farfetched but it was quite possible.

She had never known the cat well, but heard amazing stories about it. How it saved three kits from a rival clan. About how much she had cared. How she could never stop loving.

Maybe, just maybe, the mystery cat was her mother.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The forest was frozen, cold, and bare. No prey lurked in the shadows under the snow and trees. Yet, she still had to look for it. But there was something else she had to do. She crept through the naked trees silently, checking over her shoulder every now and then to assure she wasn't followed.

Every now and then, whenever they could, she and Jacques met up at the edge of the meadow and the forest. Today, she arrived early. Silverswirl didn't want to waste any precious time just sitting there, so she scouted around. Before long she was able to catch a scrawny mouse. It wasn't much, but it would do. As she came upon their meeting place again she saw a speck in the distance.

And following it were three other specks.

Silverswirl dropped the mouse and sprinted as fast as she could to meet up with them. As they drew closer she could make out Jacques in the lead. Following him where what she was sure were rogues. A large black cat headed a silvery tabby and another light brown one. More details began to form and she could tell that Jacques had some sort of leaf in him mouth. Catmint!

This quickened her pace even more and after a moment or two more she leapt at the black rogue in the lead. The small group was taken off guard for a moment, which was just enough for Jacques to wheel around and slash at his attackers. Silverswirl couldn't see entirely what he was doing, but she could tell he was injuring the light brown tom with ease.

The black cat though was a different story. He was huge, several times bigger than she. But for every advantage, there's an equal flaw. She was smaller and quicker than he was, so whenever he lunged at her, she was able to dart out of the way. Plus, whenever she did so, she left a fresh cut in her wake. It didn't take long before he ran off into the snow, leaving large red splatters behind him.

At nearly the same moment the black tom ran off, so did the brown cat. Simultaneously, both of them turned towards the remaining cat, a silver tabby she-cat. She looked back and forth at warrior and loner before she too fled. Silverswirl chuckled at how easy it was to fight them off and how poorly trained they were.

Then, she nuzzled her cheek against Jacques and said, "You came. I wasn't sure if you would."

"And miss a chance to be with you? Never." Then his face grew hard, "I had brought some catnip, but I think it got trampled while we were fighting."

Silverswirl followed his gaze to the blood-snow-dirt mix surrounding them. Smashed into the concoction were the sacred leaves she had seen earlier. All of them were broken beyond repair.

She sighed, "Come on; let's go back to our spot."

Their spot was concealed, underneath large bushes and several pine trees. Even though it was winter, and there weren't any leaves to conceal them, there were more than enough branches to compensate. Not to mention, it was safe from the biting wind.

"How is it in the twoleg-place?" she asked once they got there.

"Worse than ever. Talon enslaved three more kits. I don't know where he got them, but they might be Ruisseau's." he said sadly.

"Ruisseau? I thought she didn't want kits."

Jacques sighed, "She's their slave. Whatever Off and Talon want, she gives them. So if they want more kits…well, I think you know."

"That's terrible…absolutely disgusting." Silverswirl said, shaking her head. "Has anyone died by their paws yet? I know last time there was an old cat, what was his name again? Tonare…Tirere…Torane..?"

"Tirare. He was a twitchy old cat, but he was nice. He was never quite 'all there' though. I'd like to think he was out of it when he provoked Talon. But just before that he had been telling me that he just didn't think it was worth it anymore."

"Sad. So, was there any others?" she asked again.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. There were two sisters. Siamese cats. Crazy annoying, those two were. I feel bad for them now, especially over what happened."

"Well?"

Jacques cleared his throat, "They were out for a walk about a quarter moon ago. Just after we met last. Unfortunately, they came across a small patrol of Off's followers. They captured them and took them straight to Off. They even bypassed Talon. The first one, Mergina, did something to provoke him. Off didn't like that though. He forced the other one, Gana, to watch as he tortured her sister to death."

Silverswirl gasped, "Is she okay?"

"Well Mergina's dead and Gana hasn't spoken since then. I'm afraid she's going to lose it if she hasn't already lost it."

"Poor thing."

They were silent for a moment before Silverswirl talked.

"I don't know much about you." She stated.

Jacques was taken aback a bit, "I guess you don't. What do you want to know?"

"Who was your mother and father and did you have any siblings? They can't not exist." Silverswirl asked, genuinely curious.

"I never knew my father, but my mother's name was Mère. She died from old age just before I was given away to my housefolk."

"Oh no. That must've been terrible."

He sighed, "A bit, but I was about to leave her anyway, so I was almost prepared for it in a way."

"Oh, okay then. Continue, I'll try not to interrupt."

Jacques laughed, "Alright. Well, I had two brothers and one sister. My first brother, Raie, was given away to housefolk who live on the opposite banks of the Great River. I haven't seen him since."

"That's terrible." Silverswirl said.

Jacques just smiled, "Not really, he got away from the terror before it got this bad."

"My second brother got involved with Off. His name was Fou. I saw him every now and then on patrols, but then he disappeared. I'm not sure what ever happened to him. And finally, my sister's name is Pesce. She too got involved with Off. I think she's had several litters already."

"Does he do that with all the she-cats? Force them to kit I mean?" Silverswirl asked. The question was embarrassing, but a good one.  
"All of the she-cats that I know of. I just wish that she had stayed far away from them."

"Well, haven't you tried talking to her? There must be some safe place for her to go." Silverswirl asked.

Jacques's laugh was hollow, "You can't get to the mother's in Off's group. He has a guard around them at all times. He's always afraid that if anyone got anywhere near them they would try and steal his kits."

"So in other words, there's no way you could go and even see your sister."

"Not unless I was going to join Off's ranks. Which would never happen." He assured her.

"What happened to him to make him so twisted?" she said.

Jacques sighed, "I've heard a lot of rumors, most of them false, but there's the one biggest one." He paused for a moment, assembling the story, "Legend has it that a long time ago, seasons and seasons before we were born, he and his mate had three kits. But somehow they became lost and he just lost it. I guess his mate tried calming him down, but that didn't work. He claimed that other cats stole them and he declared vengeance on them. He gathered a small force of his friends and they attacked anyone near them. I guess it just grew and grew."

Both of them were silent for awhile before Silverswirl came up with another question, "Who was his mate?"

"I wish I knew. No one knows. Not even the older members of his group know. I guess she flew out of there as soon as his tyranny began and I don't blame her."

"What's wrong," Jacques asked, "You look confused."

"It's just…well, we have a similar story in our clan. A long time ago two of our clan members were found just wandering in the woods as kits."

"Huh, weird! I doubt it was those kits though. They were never found. Most of us think that some animal carried them off. Fox, hawk, who knows? Maybe it was even a bear!"

Silverswirl couldn't help but laugh at that. Bears rarely ever came down from the mountains. And, if they did, the twolegs usually finished them off before they could reach the woods. But, on especially rare occasions, one would find its way to the clan territory. Those incidences never ended well.

"What else do you want to know about me?" Jacques asked.

They had gotten so off topic that Silverswirl had forgotten about the original question, "Oh yah!" she thought for a moment," Are your housefolk good? Do they treat you well? What are twolegs like?"

"Whoa, slow down. My housefolk are as good as twolegs can be I believe. They let me outside, even in the leafbare, so that's a plus. Usually most cats are locked in the dens during leafbare."

"As for the last question…twolegs are quirky, that much is true. They have such odd rituals. For example, when other twolegs come over they touch their paws together and move them up and down. And sometimes, they reach their paws around each other."

"Really? That's so odd!" exclaimed Silverswirl, "What else?"

"Well, they use a hard box thing to burn their prey in. It is as hot as a fire, but without the flame. They put the prey inside it, wait, then take it out and eat is all brown and burnt."

"Ugh," Silverswirl shuddered, "How in StarClan's name can you stand to be around them?"

"Oh, you get used to it." He smiled playfully, "I don't know how you manage to stay out here in all the elements all the time."

Silverswirl looked at the trees around them, at the snow, and back at Jacques, "Trust me, sometimes I wonder too."

Jacques's attitude was suddenly very serious, "You could come with me…to my housefolk. I'm sure they would take care of you."

Silverswirl looked at him surprised, "What?! But, that's against the warrior code…"

"Silverswirl, you do love me, don't you?" he asked.

"Of course I do!"

"Then if you do, you could join me!" he reasoned.

"Jacques," she sighed, "I can't leave my clan. It's where I belong. I've grown up here and it's all I've ever known. There is no way I could leave it behind."

"I see."

Silverswirl put on the semblance of a smile, "You could come here, to SunClan. I'm sure with a bit of reasoning and explaining they would accept you. Hawkstar's nice enough."

"I know, I know." Jacques said," But just as you belong in SunClan, I belong in the twoleg-place. It's where I belong. I just hope I live long enough to see Offenseur overthrown."

"Jacques-" Silverswirl started.

"No, I think it's time for me to leave. I'm sorry Silverswirl but it's getting late."

"No." she said sternly

"What did you say?" he asked.

"I said I'm not letting you go yet."

He looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

Silverswirl smiled, "Stay here, with me, just for tonight. I can't let you yet."

Together they made a nest underneath their hiding spot. There was no way Silverswirl wanted to let go of Jacques. She loved him too much. Seeing him walk away from her, from the forest, from everything she loved, was too much. It was always as if a part of her was gone. As if she had lost her claws or her sense of hearing.

And there was the looming fact that everytime he walked back to the twoleg place, it could be the last time she ever saw him.

The next morning Jacques left before she woke up so that she wouldn't have to see him leave. She knew she would be questioned as to where she was by her clanmates. But she could always say she was out hunting.

It wasn't uncommon to be gone for a long time looking for prey during leafbare.

If only Jacques could come back to her just as she was going back to her clan.


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Feathertail stepped into the medicine cat den, jaws nearly empty besides one measly, thin mouse. The den was continually getting emptier with each passing day. It wasn't cats getting better, it was cats dying. Just that morning Tigerdapple had gone on to StarClan and more were sure to follow. Thankfully Hawkstar had gotten better after he lost a life. He was now leading the clan again and trying his best to save it even though he was still sick. Sadly, Cherrypaw was slowly dwindling away. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps and she was unable to eat a bite.

She padded softly over to where her daughter, Willowfall, lay. Her sides were heaving and sick-scent poured out of her. Her usually sleek fur was dirty and lank. Her eyes were closed and she could tell that she was sleeping. Still, she set down her prey next to the broken warrior. At one point she would've refused the food, telling her that she needed it, but that had long stopped. However humble she was, she couldn't refuse a bite of precious food.

Feathertail looked up at Lilystream who was standing over Cherrypaw with her head hung low. The medicine cat whispered softly, barely audible, "Why can't I save them Feathertail? I try and I try but it's no use…I'm an utter complete failure as a medicine cat aren't I?"

She knew she had to shake her head, but her senses were telling her that Lilystream should've known something. The twoleg place cat hadn't brought anything, and the snow had blocked off many routes to the other territories, making it impossible for SunClan to get any catmint. With so many cats sick it was hard to tell who was going to live and who was going to die. Even her own daughter, Willowfall, was deathly sick.

Her thoughts were broken by Cherrypaw violently coughing yet again. Several drops of blood trickled out of her mouth and down her chin. Feathertail shook her head; the young apprentice probably wasn't going to make it past the hour.

"That's it!" Lilystream shouted frustratingly. Feathertail jumped and Willowfall's eyes flew open, "I'm going to Hawkstar right now," Lilystream continued, "Cherrypaw deserves to be made a warrior before…before anything else happens." She stood up and padded out of the den angrily. Thrushpaw stared at Feathertail shocked from across the den, jaws still full of some sort of herb.

He dropped them on the ground, "What was that all about? I've never seen her like that before!"

She was about to reply when Lilystream stormed back in with a still-sick Hawkstar in tote. He stumbled into the den, still unable to stand without swaying back and forth. Thrushpaw quickly rushed over to him and pressed his flank against the leaders, steadying him. The medicine cat turned towards them, "Make this apprentice a warrior right now or I swear that I'll leave this clan right now!"

Hawkstar looked from her to Thrushpaw to Feathertail and back again. Slightly bewildered he looked at Lilystream, "You don't think she's going to make it?" he asked incredulously.

"It's a miracle that she made it this far already. In all honesty she should've died a long time ago." The den was silent. Even the cats in there had stopped coughing at Lilystream's shocking revelation. "I want her to be a warrior now!"

Hawkstar took a deep breath and looking up to the ceiling he began, "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down upon this warrior. She has learned the warrior code and given up her life in the service of her clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior. She will be known as Cherrydew." Lilystream smiled at the now-warrior.

"Did you hear that? You're a warrior now Cherrydew. No more stupid apprentice duties…" The medicine cat soothingly told her, fury gone in her voice.

The orange tabby struggled for a moment but managed to get a smile. Her side was heaving with the effort to breathe. Then it was as if all the air in her lungs whooshed out of her. Her normally bright green eyes grew dull and unfocused. She lay still, never to move again.

Lilystream's voice was quiet and broken, "I'm so sorry Cherrydew. I tried everything but it wasn't enough. Please forgive me."

Flowerpaw walked into the den at that moment. Seeing her dead friend lying so still next to them sent her over the edge. She began to tremble and shake violently.

Thrushpaw saw this and shouted to his mentor, "Lilystream! Help her, what's going on!?" She looked up and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"What in StarClan's going on!?" shaking her head she regained her composure, "Flowerpaw, what's wrong, speak, say something!"

The young apprentice shook her head back and forth, as if saying no, and fell into a crouched position. After several seconds she began to cough tremendously, sending droplets of blood flying. The red liquid trickled out of her nose and the corners of her mouth, staining her fur.

Silently Lilystream whispered to herself, "Oh dear StarClan, it can't be…"

"What," Thrushpaw shouted, "What's going on, what is it?!"

Lilystream squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the terrible world around her, "She has very advanced greencough. Advanced enough to where any sort of shock could kill her…"

"Why didn't she come to you before?" Feathertail implored, "It doesn't make any sense and she seemed perfectly fine."

Lilystream looked up; face grim and taut, "It was the silent greencough. Undetectable until…until something like this happens." Seeing everyone's shocked faces she continued, "It almost never happens, ever. I was taught about it when I first became a medicine cat apprentice."

Hawkstar stepped forward, "Is…is she going to live?" he asked quietly.

Lilystream looked slowly up to her leader, eyes full of dread and heart full of sadness. She glanced at all of them before giving a reply, "No. It's too late…"

Cinderfur, Flowerpaw's mentor, came in, "I heard Flowerpaw was sick, what happened?" Everyone looked to the grey warrior as Lilystream explained what had happened. At the end Cinderfur sat down on the ground, "She was perfectly fine earlier."

Hawkstar shook his head, "This isn't right! Three cats in one day!" He looked up towards the roof of the den, "StarClan," he yelled, "why have you done this?! What have we ever done wrong to you? Tell me; give me some sort of sign! Why have you forsaken us?!"

"Hawkstar, calm down!" Feathertail shouted above his rants.

He swiveled back to where the apprentice was. Her coughing was done but she was still shaking. Looking towards Lilystream he mewed, "Do-do you think that I should perform the warrior ceremony?"

Lilystream only nodded her head. He took a deep, slow breath before continuing onward, "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down upon this warrior. She has learned the warrior code and given up her life in the service of her clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior." He paused momentarily, thinking of the perfect name for the fragile cat before him, "She will be known as Flowerheart."

"The perfect name…" Cinderfur whispered.

Flowerheart was unaware of what was happening around her. The shaking was beginning to stop. Slowly they watched helplessly as the life drained out of her little by little. There was absolutely nothing they could do.

Feathertail couldn't stand the sight of all the death anymore. She rushed out of the den blindly. Lilystream called after her, yelling for her to stop, but it was in vain. How could StarClan still be watching over them if they were allowing so many to die? Her faith was dwindling along with her belief that the sick cats were going to get better.

She tripped along until she realized that she had run out of camp in her grief-stricken daze. The forest was quiet and still, unusually so even for leaf-bare. A chill breeze blew off the hills and into the trees around her. Several sparkling flakes of snow drifted into her vision, forewarning yet another storm. With every pawstep she took she became colder and colder. Her head was dizzy with hunger and exhaustion. Looking down she saw that her paws were bleeding with the blisters from the snow. Her blood was bright red against the untouched pure white crystals.

Suddenly she stopped. Just ahead of her was a dark figure sitting in the path. It was unmoving, seemingly lifeless. "Hey," she shouted in between breaths, "who are you?"

The shadowy figure moved its head. Spotting her it began to move towards Feathertail. Her heart began to race and she unsheathed her claws. The wind was picking up, sending snow flying into the air, blocking her sight. She was just about to pounce when she recognized him.

It was Jacques. Although she had never seen him she knew him by his description. His grey tabby pelt was fluffed up against the chill.

He looked up at her, "Are you from SunClan?"

"Yes, are you Jacques?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I thought I was going to become as frozen as an icicle before long."

"What are you doing out here without a guide?"

"I was on my way to your clan when I became caught in the storm. I lost my way unfortunately. Do you know Silverswirl?"

"Yes, I do. What's it to you though?" she replied, half angry and half depressed.

"Oh, nothing. I was just hoping to meet her again."

Sudden realization hit her like the waterfall, "You like her don't you?"

Jacques looked down ashamed, "Yes. I know it can't work though."

She looked at the kittypet. Feathertail expected him to be scared and afraid, but the only scent that came off of him was some sort of stubbornness. Some sort of love.

"I can lead you back to camp…back to her."

He looked at her in surprise, "Why would you want to help me?"

Utterly exhausted, she sat down. The bare branches scraped against the gloomy grey sky as she tried to look towards her ancestors in StarClan. She could tell that the storm was continually getting closer. The wind was coming in gusts now as she huddled up near a tree with Jacques. Not wanting to answer the question she created one of her own, "What did you two talk about that night you were lost together?"

Suprisingly he was no longer calm. On the contrary, he was quite mad, "That was a tête-à-tête okay?! You don't need to be peeping into my private life!"

"Listen here _kittypet! _I'm just trying to help you out. If you don't want it you can just try to find your own way back." She retorted hotly.

Jacques sighed, sending a large cloud of frosty air swirling upward, "Désolé. Let's just drop the whole thing."

Feathertail nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, we have to get back to camp straight away." She mewed urgently. He nodded his head in agreement and stood up. They kept their heads low to the ground and forced their way through the wind. Going with the gusts it would've been so easy, but going against it was another story. It pushed against them with all its might. She dug her claws into the ice-packed snow.

The blizzard was blinding to both of them. Feathertail had to rely on her sense of direction alone. She couldn't even see the trees until they were right in front of her frozen eyes. She briefly stopped and turned towards her companion, "Hold onto my tail!" Although she couldn't see him she could feel a slight tug on her tail, signaling that he had grabbed on. Taking a deep breath she ventured forward again. A single thought stood out from all the others buzzing through her head. What if she missed the camp? What would happen to them, and what would happen to her kits?

Then she fell, tumbling head over paws downward. She could her Jacques yowling behind her as he slipped too. Something sharp was pricking her side. Feathertail fell onto the hard ground and her world went black. Sounds came from all around her, yelling things she couldn't understand. Brief glimpses of the world around her would fill her vision before she returned to the darkness. She could tell that she was somewhere familiar, but where? Finally she gave up, allowing herself to be completely submerged in black warmth.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Silverswirl leapt to her feet. Grassclaw had just told her that Feathertail and Jacques had fallen into the camp, literally. Running into the clearing she could see two limp bodies on the ground below the rocky outcrop. Glancing upwards she could see that the snowstorm was raging wildly above the camp. They must've become lost and walked right off the cliff!

At the sight of him lying there scent her mind scrambling. She squeezed her eyes tight and searched for a tiny spark of hope to hold onto. She found it. She had to stay sane for her brothers at least. She could feel the fear, sadness, grief, and despair coming off of her. Taking a deep breath she controlled her emotions and masked them with worry seemingly for her clanmate.

Nearly the whole clan was there now. Rockclaw was standing over his mate anxiously while Lilystream shoved herself through the clan and began to check them over. Hawkstar was watching from his den, still weak from the sickness. She had forgotten how close he and Feathertail were. He turned towards the nursery where Rosebloom was standing in the entrance, blocking the scene from the kits.

From the nursery she could hear the mews of the kits. One was more prominent than the other, Leopardkit's, "Rosebloom, what's wrong? What's going on out there?"

"Hush little one, go back to sleep." The kit dejectedly wandered back into the den.

She spotted Patchpelt and padded over to him. Like the rest of the clan he was trying to help the two, "What happened?" she asked.

He turned to her, "They crashed through the thorn barrier and fell over the cliff."

Silverswirl turned towards her former mentor, wide-eyed and shocked, "Why was Feathertail out in the forest anyways, and why did she bring back Jacques?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. Lilystream was the last to see her before she stormed out of camp," he lowered his voice, "after…after Flowerheart died."

"Oh," was all that Silverswirl was able to get out.

Lilystream stood up, "They're okay. I think their just knocked out from the fall. They do have a little bit of frostbite, but that'll go away."

Silverswirl could hear Rockclaw give a sigh of relief. She would've sighed too, but she didn't want anyone to suspect anything. The mood of all the cats was immediately uplifted, but only for a moment. More coughing began back in the medicine cat den.

Lilystream looked over her shoulder towards her den, then back at the rest of the clan, "Alright…take these two to the warrior's den and keep them warm. I don't want them in my den." She then proceeded to sprint back to the medicine cat den.

Longwhisker, Rockclaw, and Blackear shouldered the two unconscious cats and half-carried/have-dragged them to the den.

Patchpelt lifted his head to the darkening sky, "It's getting late and we'd better get back to our nests. It'll be warmer there."

"Yah," she agreed, "I'll be right there. I'm going to see Molepaw first."

"Sure, just hurry up, I have a feeling tha0t the storm's only going to get worse."

As she walked over to the medicine den she thought about all those who had already died. Nettlekit and Greenkit had been the first to go. Tansyheart followed shortly after along with Fallowshine. Smallear and Tortoiseshine went a quarter moon after them. After that they lost a lot. Adderscale, Tigerdapple, Cherrydew, and Flowerheart's deaths were all close to each other. Now there were still so many sick. Badgerkit, Squirrelkit, Willowfall, Molepaw, Gorsepelt, and One-eye were all close to death.

The medicine den scents was mixed. The stench of death and sickness overpowered the normal scent of herbs. The fur of the sick cats was matted and dirty. They were even thinner than the healthy cats. Silverswirl doubted that they even had any fat left on them. She even had a hard time thinking that they would ever get better. Sickness had become the norm now.

For nearly four moons there had been the greencough and famine. They had missed the latest two gatherings. At one point some cats from OceanClan had come to check on them. Once they saw all the freshly dug graves and smelled the scent of the sick they had run away. Hawkstar could only assume that they didn't want to bring greencough into their own clans and he didn't blame them. But that didn't mean that none of them did.

She walked over to where her brothers were. Thrushpaw had taken up sleeping next to Molepaw now. His light blue eyes met hers. They were filled with sadness and grief, not unlike her own. Molepaw was sleeping deeply next to One-eye. Silverswirl lay down on the opposite side of Thrushpaw. She gave Molepaw several gentle licks before saying anything, "Do you think there's anything that'll keep him here…keep him alive?"

"Lilystream said that his outlook is bad." His voice became slightly shaky, "She said that it's amazing that he's lived after being sick for this long."

She closed her eyes. If the medicine cat didn't think he was going to make it that probably meant that he wasn't going to make it.

"If he wakes up tell me. I'm going back to the warrior's den now." Thrushpaw merely nodded his head as he continued to groom his brother's pelt. As soon as she was out of the medicine cat den she sprinted towards her nest. Jacques would be there.

She slowed down when she neared the entrance and saw that nearly all the cats were sleeping now. Only Patchpelt was still awake next to her nest. On the other side of her nest was Jacques, still knocked out.

When she walked in Patchpelt lifted his head and looked at her, "I saw the way you were looking at him." Seeing her faux-confused look he added, "Don't deny it. I've been around long enough to recognize when cats love each other."

She looked away from him, ashamed, as she curled up in her nest. She pressed her fur against Jacques to keep him warm in the bitter cold, "Are you going to tell anyone?" she asked quietly.

"No, but if you ever want anyone to know, you'll have to convince Hawkstar to let him join yourself. I'm having no part in it." He turned his away and was asleep within seconds. Silverswirl swiveled herself so that she was facing Jacques. She pressed herself against him and gave him a few soft licks. Seeing him and knowing that he was alright lifted her spirits tenfold. Maybe it would be easy to convince Hawkstar and maybe it wouldn't, but she was determined to have her love be a part of her life. Closing her eyes she felt the happiest she had been in a long time.

Soon she was standing in the green meadow again. Across the clearing was the star-cat. It blinked at her once and then turned to the trees and disappeared again into the shadows. Racing after it she began to get closer and closer. With a jolt she realized that she was under the canopy of the trees, the farthest she had ever gotten in her dreams.

A path of sparkling stars was the only tracks she could follow. They moved in and out of the trees seemingly at random. She then remembered where she was. She was in SunClan territory close to the Great River. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the water flowing steadily past her as she walked out of the trees onto the pebbly bank.

The trail went straight into the water and then stopped. She followed it until her paws were touching the icy cold water. Something wasn't right. Silverswirl couldn't tell what, but something didn't seem normal. Suddenly she was sucked underwater, dragged down by some unseen force. She struggled against the water to reach the surface. The sparkling surface was slowly disappearing as the murky water fully consumed her.

Just as she thought she had no air left in her lungs she awoke. After looking around wildly for a moment or two she realized where she was. The storm had ended but most of the cats were still in the den away from the cold.

Aspentail saw here saw her crazed look and came up to her, "Are you ok? You looked a little startled."

"What? Oh, yah, I had a bad dream, that's all."

He nodded his head, "This cold makes everyone have odd dreams. Why just the other night I dreamt I was a kittypet of all things!" he laughed.

Silverswirl laughed weak heartedly, "Heh heh, yah…uh, where's Jacques?" she asked, just noticing his empty nest next to hers.

Redfoot walked up from behind them and answered her question, "Hawkstar wanted to speak with him and Feathertail as soon as they woke up. He said it was urgent."

"Ah, that makes sense," she said, getting to her paws, "Did the dawn patrol bring back anything?" she asked when she realized how empty her stomach really was.

Aspentail shook his head, "Nothing but a tiny snow hare. Blackear insisted that we give it to the queens and kits."

Reedfur showed up behind the three at that moment, "I don't understand why though. How are we going to hunt if we haven't had any food all day?"

Redfoot whipped around, "You better bite your tongue Reedfur! The queens and kits always come before us and you know it!"

"In order to feed them we have to feed ourselves!" he spit back.

"Seems like you've been doing a pretty good job of that." Birchface muttered under her breath as she passed the group.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reedfur growled. The tension within the den began to rise as the two began to circle each other.

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

The black warrior drew out his claws, "Oh really, enlighten me then."

Birchface was furious by now and her voice was full of venom as she replied back, "I've smelled the way you smell like prey when you come back. Everyone knows you've been eating what you catch and not bringing it back like everybody else. It's no wonder you're not as thin as us you lazy piece of crowfood!"

Reedfur sprang at her and they tumbled through the den sending fur, moss, and twigs flying everywhere. Birchface pushed him off and sent him flying into the wall of the den, snapping a large hole in the branches in the process. He shook himself off and clawed her across the nose breaking the skin. Birchface yowled in pain but crouched down and jumped onto his back, forcing him downward and breaking his focus. Reedfur shoved her off and twisted around to catch her unaware. However, she was prepared for his attack and side-stepped out of the way. He sailed past her and slammed right into Silverswirl.

Blackear, Hawkstar, Feathertail, and Jacques burst through the den's entrance just in time to see Reedfur pushing himself off of her and doubling back to attack Birchface again. Blackear jumped in between Reedfur and Birchface. Hawkstar grabbed Reedfur and pulled him out of the den while Redfoot and Aspentail calmed Birchface down.

Everyone was so busy tending Reedfur and Birchface that they didn't notice that Silverswirl was injured when Reedfur pounced on her. She pulled herself up and dared to look down at her side. Two bright red lines scratched from her shoulder to her hip and sprouted bright red blood. Jacques ran up to her but took a step back when he saw the claw marks.

He took a shaky gulp before asking, "Are-are you okay Silverswirl?"

She took a deep breath, steadying herself, "I-I think so…I just need to get something on them before they get an infection."

"Here, I'll help you over there." He said, taking several steps towards her.

"No! They'll figure it out." Her words stopped him in his tracks and he nodded. Jacques finally understood that no one could know about them just yet.

Longwhisker turned around to survey the damage of the den when he noticed that she was injured and ran over to her. Grassclaw and Rockclaw hurried over and helped her in between them to support her. Jacques trailed behind them as they helped her to the medicine cat den.

They were stopped in the entrance when Lilystream called out, "Stop! Set her outside, I don't want her to get greencough." The two warriors set her down gently outside the den then headed back to the warrior's den.

Before they left Rockclaw ordered, "Jacques, stay with Silverswirl and see to it that she's fine."

"Uh, sure."

Lilystream was backed up with taking care of the sick and of the wounded, namely Birchface and Reedfur. Silverswirl could hear the two getting berated by Hawkstar for their stupidity. After a long while he finally walked out.

Spotting Jacques he wandered over to him, "I know we were going to let you recover from the cold before we ventured to the twoleg place, but we'll have to do it sooner."

Jacques positioned himself to face Hawkstar before asking, "How soon do you mean?"

"Tonight, when the moon is at its peak." He answered gravely.

"Are you sure? It's risky and dangerously unsafe. I don't know if you even have enough warriors to go, especially if they're fighting like this." Jacques replied.

Silverswirl looked from her leader to her love with confusion. What in StarClan's name were they talking about?

Hawkstar sighed, "It's going to have to be enough." Looking in the medicine den again he continued, "The cats are getting sicker and sicker and I fear that if we don't hurry… well, more will die."

Silverswirl couldn't take the mystery any longer, "What's going on?"

Hawkstar and Jacques looked down to where she was lying below them. Hawkstar glanced at Jacques then back to her and explained, "We're taking a patrol to the twoleg place to retrieve the catmint. Unfortunately we can't wait any longer."

"Who's going?" she asked.

"I'm taking Redfoot, Blackear, Cinderfur, Aspentail, Rockclaw, Lilystream, Jacques, and myself." Hawkstar answered.

She pulled herself up, "I'm going with."

"No you're not, you're hurt!" Jacques said pushing her back down.

Silverswirl pushed herself back up and replied hotly, "Yes I am! I don't care what any of you say, including Lilystream, I'm going!"

"For StarClan's sake Silverswirl, stop acting like a kit! You're hurt and you're not going. I don't need an injured cat on a mission as important as this one." Hawkstar replied back furiously.

She stood up and looked into her leader's eyes. "I'm not staying here. I can walk and run normally. All that my injury is is a little scratch on my side, no big deal."

Leader and warrior stared at each other for several tedious moments before Hawkstar relented, "Fine, I can see that there's no changing your mind. But if you think that for one second that if you fall behind and we're waiting for you, you're wrong." He turned around and stalked back to the warrior's den to assess the damage.

Jacques turned to her, "What was that all about?!"

Silverswirl looked at him and replied, "You told me about those rogue cats before. This is going to be dangerous and I don't want to lose you without being there."

His gaze softened, "Nothing's going to happen, alright? We're just going to go to my owner's den and take some of the catni-catmint."

She looked around first to check that no one was watching before she licked his shoulder, "I know, but I just want to make sure."

"Everything will be fine, you'll see." He smiled as he said this but Silverswirl couldn't help but notice the slight twinge of doubt that emanated from him.

As Lilystream came out with some poultices and cobweb to dress her wounds she couldn't help but think. What if they all didn't arrive back safely? What if she lost Jacques? How would she live with herself without him?


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Silverswirl sat up to get a good look at the patrol Hawkstar had assembled. Her leader was in the front along with Redfoot and Blackear. Lilystream was just behind them talking to Cinderfur. Rockclaw, Aspentail, Jacques, and she were in the rear. The rest of the clan watched from inside their dens where it was warm.

Just as she was doing this Hawkstar called out from the lead, "SunClan, move out! Jacques, you're up front with me." Jacques nodded his head and raced up front. Hawkstar then jogged out the entrance into the cold leaf-bare night. The night was absolutely still and void of life. It was as if the world had frozen to a halt. Grey branches seemed to stretch their tendrils out to the nearly full moon.

Silverswirl spotted several trees with claw marks in the bark at ground level. This was an age-old tradition among their clan to see how high the snow would get from the actual earthen ground. The highest Silverswirl had ever seen them was about two tail lengths above the ground. There were always rumors that some had seen them up to the very tips of trees.

She wondered how many of them would return to see those marks. Countless had already died and StarClan knew if any more were to. Looking to Jacques she wondered how she could ever live if he died. Even though she hadn't been able to see him often she knew that they were the perfect fit. Silverswirl knew that Molepaw would never approve, let alone Thrushpaw! She knew she would do anything without their permission though. She didn't need it.

Before she realized it they were on the outskirts of the twoleg place. Jacques called it "Côté Mer" whatever that meant. The moonlight reflected off the shiny tops of the twoleg dens. The twolegs had even gone so far as to capture the stars and encase them in the tops of branchless, hard trees. Silverswirl had to admit that it helped a little bit though in their quest through the stone maze.

The twoleg place was a cluster of large twoleg dens constructed out of rocks and stones. Even the thunderpath was all stone. Leafless trees were strewn haphazardly about the place. Every now and then they would pass a den with light piercing through it and others would be dark. Sleeping monsters were lined up in rows along the thunderpaths. Jacques eventually led them into what he called an "alley". It was basically a small, narrow space between two twoleg dens.

She trotted a little faster, even though her scratch wounds hurt, until she was near the lead of the group next to Jacques. Even though he was absorbed in conversation with Aspentail she knew that he knew where he was going. Part of her wanted to confess their love right there right now, but another part screamed at the top of its lungs that it was completely wrong. She was going against everything she was taught.

Silverswirl decided to finally push away those thoughts and focus on the events happening around her. In order to show Hawkstar that she meant business she had to act it.

The patrol was mostly quiet except for Aspentail who kept on asking constant questions. "What are twolegs like?" and "What's it like being a kittypet?" and "Is your life easy or hard?" Between those and his awe of the twoleg place it was impossible to notice that Aspentail clearly was in pure bliss being in this environment. Rockclaw was whispering to Redfoot about how weird this all was. She couldn't make out what Lilystream was saying but she must've been comforting Cinderfur because she could feel the sadness in the air.

Suddenly Jacques stopped. He sniffed the air then signaled upwards over the fence next to them. Crouching low to the ground she could see his muscles bunch up. The next thing she knew he was on top of the fence; balancing his weight so as not to fall off.

Peering down he called to the rest of the patrol, "Just jump up and be sure not to fall. We have to walk on top of the fence for a while in order to reach my garden."

Redfoot looked to Blackear and whispered, "To reach his what?"

"I think it's like his territory." Cinderfur replied back.

Hawkstar looked back with annoyance and leaped upward to the top of the fence. He was able to get his front paws on the peak but his back paws missed. He struggled for a moment or two before Jacques pulled him the rest of the way up.

Blackear nodded to Rockclaw for him to go next. The grey tom looked up at the height, shook his head, and jumped. He almost didn't make it but Hawkstar grabbed his scruff, and, with the help of Jacques, got him the rest of the way up.

Redfoot, Cinderfur, Blackear, Aspentail, and Lilystream each made it up with no incident. Then it was her turn. She studied the height and calculated how hard she was going to have to push off the ground. Plus she had to factor in the fact that the fence was cold and slipperly. Silverswirl squeezed her eyes shut and leapt upward. The air whirred past her and she reached her claws out to grab a hold of the wood. For a few strenuous moments she flailed about with nothing below her. Then she could feel someone grabbing onto her scruff and pulling her up. It was Jacques.

The rest of the patrol had gone on ahead of them, one by one, on the rails. She gave Jacques a quick affectionate lick on his cheek then hurried to catch up with the rest of them. Jacques was yelling directions to Hawkstar in the lead as they wound their way through the seemingly infinite maze of fences. A twoleg den would always be in the center of them with another fence separating what Silverswirl could only guess were the so called 'gardens'.

She was just beginning to relax when she saw Cinderfur's long grey pelt disappear up ahead. Redfoot and Rockclaw snarled in anger and jumped off to the right side of the fence and disappeared into several bushes. Turning her head she could see that Jacques's eyes were wide with fright. The rest of the patrol leapt into the bushes to aid their clanmates. By the time they found them they had another cat pinned under their claws and Aspentail with his claws at the cat's throat.

When Jacques caught sight of the cat he relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief, "Les Pêches, pourquoi vous avez attaqué un innocent cat?"

He stared back at Jacques in first amazement then anger, "Ils étaient sur mon territoire, et permettez-moi de passer!"

Jacques nodded and looked to Redfoot and Rockclaw who were holding him down, "You can let him go, he won't be of any trouble."

They looked to Hawkstar first. When the leader nodded his head they finally let him go.

Jacques turned back towards the orange tabby tom, "You had no right to attack her. You should know perfectly well that we don't have territories anymore."

The tom looked at him vehemently, "Even though those _savages_ say we don't I'm still going to have my own space."

Two more cats appeared out of the thick overgrowth. Only now did Silverswirl realize that they were standing in front of an abandoned twoleg den. Both of them were she-cats, one was a queen. The white one was older and more regal. She walked with an air of knowledge and yet humbleness. The other one, a calico queen, stumbled over to them. She looked scared and frightened at the sight of the unfamiliar cats before her.

The white she-cat stepped over to where the orange tom was standing, "Ce qui se passe sur les Pêches?"

Without changing his defensive stance her turned his head and calmly soothed her, "It's nothing La Neige, just some cats passing by."

"They've upset Fleur. How am I supposed to calm her now, she thought it was Off and his minions."

Pêches rolled his eyes, "I'll go and calm her while you talk to them."

The snowy cat look at them with a fierce protectiveness, "Jacques, what are you doing bringing them here. You know this is our only safe place from that monstrous rogue." She almost had a hint of sadness at the end of her statement.

"This is the only way to my garden," he negotiated, "I have to get them there soon or their clan could perish."

Her eyes widened, "Clan cats?! Do you mean forest cats?!"

He only nodded his head.

La Neige's voice became slightly shaky, "You know how much he hates the forest, especially the cats that live in it! If he catches their scent he won't give up until they find you!"

Hawkstar looked to Jacques, alarmed, "Why didn't you tell us about that little part?"

"I didn't think that it was necessary."

Hawkstar's voice became filled with anger, "Not necessary?! What do you mean 'not necessary'?! It was completely necessary and you should've warned us!"

Jacques looked away before replying quietly, "You weren't meant to find out."

Hawkstar turned to the rest of the patrol, "That's it, we're leaving now."

"Wait!" La Neige called, "You can't go, not until sunrise at least."

"And why's that?" Hawkstar taunted, "You want to trick us too?"

"No, I spotted Off and his gang not too far from here. They'll be all over this area tonight searching for you. You'll have to stay with us here; the plants will cover up your scent."

Rockclaw spoke up from the rest of the group, "And why should we be so afraid of a couple of no-good kittypets?"

Her eyes narrowed, "You have good reason to be afraid of Offenseur and the rest of them, clan cat. Never underestimate them, they're just too dangerous."

Hawkstar considered her offer for a long moment. That gave just enough time for Silverswirl to study the unfamiliar cats even more. La Neige was actually quite pretty besides her fierceness. Her eyes were the same striking amber color as Lilystream's. If she were a clan cat she would almost certainly be the leader. Fearless and strong.

The other one, Fleur, was quiet and timid. Seemingly quite naïve actually. Almost entirely covered up by fear scent she could smell another. It was almost invisible but the faint hint of protectiveness for her unborn kits shone through. Her belly was so swollen that even Silverswirl knew that it wouldn't be long before she kitted. She also could only guess that she and Pêches were mates, but she wasn't totally sure yet.

Pêches was the complete opposite of Fleur. He seemed fearless and independent. He was lankier than Jacques yet she could see the muscles underneath his pelt. Obviously he was used to having to fend for himself. She even went so far as to deduce that he wouldn't have hesitated in dispatching Cinderfur had he gotten the chance.

Hawkstar finally nodded his head and followed the loners into their 'den' of sorts. It was a hollowed out twoleg den with no wooden or transparent wooden planks to block their way in. The twoleg's soft rocks were old and rotting. Even the den itself looked unstable. Parts of the roof were caving in exposing the moonlight to the inside. Here and there bits and pieces of the stone walls were missing creating gaps and drafts. There was even snow piled up in the den. Silverswirl knew that only a cat with no place to go would live in this horrid place.

Pêches led them to one of the only dry corners. They had dragged the soft rocks and odd, brightly colored pelts here and had created warm, dry, soft nests. They signaled to an abandoned place in the nests for them to sleep. Fleur looked slightly uncomfortable with them receiving those spots. Although they didn't say anything the clan cats could tell that another cat had been sleeping there, but they were probably dead.

Silverswirl curled up close to Jacques yet inconspicuous enough so that no one would figure them out. Redfoot, Rockclaw, and Blackear each made their nest close enough to each other so that they wouldn't freeze. Lilystream padded over to where Fleur was and began to talk to her, probably something about the kits. Hawkstar stood guard at the entrance to the den, making sure that no one entered without his permission.

Pêches saw this and struggled back up to his paws and made his way over there. Silverswirl stifled a laugh as she could feel his jealousy pour out of him. Her eyes became heavier and heavier until finally she gave into the warm inviting sleep that awaited her.

She opened her eyes yet again in the water. Thrashing around she searched for a way up. The water was pitch black and it was impossible to tell which way was up and which way was down. The invisible force was sending her thrashing in every direction at random. Finally she was able to pull her head to the surface. She took several deep breaths before she was pulled under again.

Suddenly she remembered what Patchpelt had taught her about the river. He had once told her that the river had currents in it that were strong enough at times to pull a grown cat underwater and never let go. Remembering her training she let herself grow limp until she floated back up to the surface of the water.

It was then that she heard the mewling. It wasn't the sound from a warrior but from a kit. There were a lot of them too! She circled around and around looking for the kits but she couldn't see them. Slowly her world went dark until she awoke once again in the den.

Silverswirl took several steadying breaths like she had taught herself to do before she rose to her paws. She wondered why she had woken up; it was still very dark out. Then she heard the mews again. This time she was sure she wasn't dreaming and she spun around until she saw the source of the noise. Lilystream, Pêches, La Neige, and Jacques were all standing around Fleur. Apparently Fleur had had her kits while she was sleeping. Four of them!

Jacques turned around and noticed that she was awake. He silently padded over to her and nuzzled her affectionately, "They're beautiful aren't they? Tout comme vous."

"Yes, very beautiful. What are their names?"

He pointed to each of the kits as he recited their names, "Minuit is the completely black one, Araignée is the one with the grey spots on his head, L'espoir is the girl with the large grey splotches, and Lune is the one that looks like her mother."

Silverswirl couldn't help but think to herself how odd the names sounded. They were all so foreign sounding with different accents at certain sounds. And yet the names fit them all perfectly. She looked to her mate with curiosity, if they ever had kits, would he want them to have names like those, or clan names?

It was only then that they both noticed, seemingly at the same time, that they were being watched. The amber eyes had seen them close together and how they were acting as if they were the only two cats in the world. She had seen him nuzzle her cheek; she had sensed how much they loved each other. She had watched the whole scene play out.

Lilystream knew.


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

She stared in shock at the two cats. Their heads were bent together and their tails were lovingly entwined. She saw how Silverswirl pressed herself firmly into Jacques fur. Affection, warmth, and happiness were seeping from both of them. She couldn't help as her eyes went wide and her mouth went slack with surprise. The two seemed to move as one as they turned towards her. Both Silverswirl and Jacques's faces became shocked and filled with fear and worry.

Lilystream finally understood what all Silverswirl's confused emotions meant. She finally knew why she had been acting so mysterious this entire time. Silverswirl was in love. More importantly, she was in love with a kittypet! A nagging thought in the back of her head reared its ugly head; it couldn't be much worse than what she was doing.

She stood up and wandered over to where the two were sitting together. Silverswirl had bent her head down in shame while Jacques was staring ahead, unblinking, trying to act tough. It wasn't working. Lilystream could sense his fear and worry that radiated off of him. As she passed the couple she whispered, "Meet me outside, now!" quietly into the warrior's ear and continued out of the den.

Although her back was turned to her as she padded forward she could still sense that Silverswirl was following her. Both of their soft paws were barely more than a whisper as the leapt up to a larger hole in the wall and into the overgrowth in the 'garden' as the loners called it.

"Lilystream, I know wha-" Silverswirl began only to have Lilystream quiet her by putting her tail up to her lips.

The medicine cat took a deep breath, "Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

Silverswirl looked away sheepishly, "I didn't think that anyone would approve. It goes against the warrior code…"

"You can bet your tail it is! What you did is wrong, horrible even, and you should be severely punished for it! Not to mention the anger the clan is going to have towards you all."

The swirly silver warrior looked down to her paws and pressed herself closer to Jacques.

Lilystream took another calming breath to finish her thought, "And you should be glad that I'm not going to tell."

Silverswirl lifted up her head slowly but surely. A mixture of shock, awe, and happiness swirled through her face like the patterns on her pelt. Lilystream didn't blame her for the joy radiating off of the warrior.

"Thank you Lilystream, thank you so much!" Silverswirl was near hysterical, "I would've thought that you would've given me away for sure!"

Lilystream nodded thoughtfully, "But when the time comes, you're going to have to tell the clan. They'll want to know who the father is."

And in that instant the smile vanished from Silverswirl's face, replaced by wide eyes and slack jaw for her. Jacques looked down to his love with confusion, "What is she talking about mon amour?"

Lilystream glanced at the two cats and they all registered what she had just revealed.

"Oh no…"

They hadn't known. Nobody but she had known, even Silverswirl hadn't known. Her whole situation was about to get very complicated. Silverswirl was going to have kits.


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Lilystream looked towards Silverswirl and contemplated her words momentarily, "Silverswirl…I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you didn't know." She took a breath as if she was going to say more but decided against it. With sad eyes she gave a curt nod and jumped back down into the den.

Jacques looked at his love accusingly, "Why couldn't you have told me? You must have at least expected something."

Silverswirl closed her eyes tight, remembering the moments within the past moon. Moments when she was angry or sad or happy. When she was so hungry it felt as though she might die. Moments when she couldn't help but notice that she was getting no thinner. She sat down defeated on her haunches. Glancing down at her belly she could see now that it had the distinctive 'I'm going to have kits' look. How could she have been stupid enough to not notice it before!

"Jacques, I swear to StarClan that I had no idea," she began, "It all makes sense now but-"

"Save it for somebody that cares!" He hissed, "One thing that I know for sure is that you've been using me this entire time." Jacques gave her a furious glare full of hate and betrayal, "I don't know why I agreed to help your clan through all this mouse-dung. I should've just let all of you die!"

Silverswirl gasped in horror as Jacques fled into the twoleg nest again. Why, why was all this happening to her?! She shakily got to her paws and wandered back in with a daze. Part of her was euphoric over the thought of being a mother, but the other half was furious with herself. She was going to have kits but lose her mate in the process.

Jacques had moved to the other side of the nests, far away from her. She sighed and fell back into her spot. Lilystream noticed how alone she felt and the medicine cat made her nest next to her. At this point Silverswirl was too tired to be mad at her for revealing her pregnancy and subsequently ruining her relationship.

They fell asleep side by side.

Silverswirl's dream picked up where it left off. She knew it was a dream but even so, it was hard to shake the horrid sense of reality that surrounded it. The murky water was swallowing her yet again like before. From the surface came the mews of frightened kits. The invisible currents were dragging her down harder and harder but she fought against it with all her might.

At first she couldn't pinpoint her sense of urgency to get to the surface. She could have easily given up and drowned and woken up. Then it dawned on her. The kits that were in trouble. Those poor, poor things. They were her kits. Currents and tides became more like a slight ripple to Silverswirl. She pounded furiously until she reached the top. Taking a deep gulp of air she frantically scanned everywhere she could.

Tree branches and debris blocked all of her view. The thought came to her to climb on top of a passing branch and get a better view. Before she could she was being dragged under again. This time her quick paddles were to no avail. She was pulled under until she could feel the bottom of the river in the unending black. This was it; she couldn't hold her breath any longer.

The sun felt hot on her pelt as she opened her eyes quickly. Most of the patrol was already awake. Silverswirl shook her head to banish any sleep from her; any of her nightmare. Hawkstar was admiring Fleur's kits in the corner while Pêches looked on impatiently. La Neige was in deep conversation with Lilystream on top of one of the soft rocks. Behind her she could hear Redfoot, Blackear, Cinderfur, and Aspentail arguing about something along the lines of mice vs. voles. Rockclaw was sitting on a ledge bathing himself. And Jacques…Jacques was sitting in the entrance of the twoleg den on guard.

She got to her paws and trotted over to where the latter was. As he sensed her coming he stiffened. Tension crackled between them like lightning as she sat down next to him. He didn't look over to her but gazed on into the garden. Iridescent drops of frost sparkled on the dead overgrowth. She took a deep breath and began, "I honestly didn't know about them. You must understand that I love you…more than anything in the world." Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness as he stiffly turned his head and looked into them.

"I just can't comprehend how you wouldn't have known about them. It's been nearly a moon now."

Silverswirl looked down guiltily, "I know. It's inexcusable but it's prudent that you understand that I didn't know anything either. I mean, I'm barely out of apprenticeship and now I'm going to be a mother!"

Hurt lingered on his features, "I just don't know Silverswirl. I need time to think."

She suddenly remembered a phrase he had once taught her long ago, "C'est la vie. You once told me that life is tough but we must persevere. Bad things happen and we move on. I'm going to have kits, but even if you can never forgive me, don't blame them. They'll need a father."

He sighed, "Using my own language against me. You really are a warrior aren't you?" He laughed for a moment than became somber again. "I will love the kits. But I don't know if I'll ever forgive you. I just can't figure out if any of it was real or not."

She had to turn her head away for a moment to regain her calm. No matter what she absolutely couldn't have a break down here and now. The old Silverswirl would've tried to think of something sharp to say, but the new Silverswirl, the mother, just nodded her head.

Suddenly she could feel eyes boring into her back once again. She glimpsed over her shoulder at two pairs of striking amber eyes. Lilystream and La Neige quickly bent their heads together again. They were talking vigorously as if they had discovered something. Silverswirl tightly moved to her paws to discover what they were chatting about.

Suddenly Hawkstar abruptly stood up and yowled, "If we are to get the catmint we must leave now! Jacques, lead the way!"

The patrol assembled and made their way out the entrance. Before they left Hawkstar added to the loners, "Thank you for allowing us to stay here overnight. If there is any way that we can repay you, just ask."

Pêches glanced back to where Fleur and her kits were resting before replying, "If there is any way you can get rid of the rogues, do it."

Hawkstar nodded his head, "We will watch out for them. Do not worry, their reign cannot last forever," he paused momentarily, "and I will make sure that it will not."

One by one they made their way back onto the fence again. When Jacques helped Silverswirl up again he did it quickly and efficiently with no affection. The fence was cold and hard like his attitude towards her. Fresh snow had coated the tops of them making it icy and dangerous for most of the trip. Wherever they walked a puff of snow would fall to the ground in a swirl of sparkling colors.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking perilously on top of the rails Jacques finally leapt down. He turned to them once more, "The catmint is inside my housefolk's den. I can bring it out one trip at a time for you all until we have enough." He said it without emotion and there was a subtle hint of a hard edge to it.

The patrol swiveled their heads towards their leader. He nodded his head and Jacques shot through a hole in the side of the den. Several tense moments seemed to turn into minutes, then hours, then years.

Silverswirl couldn't help but wander aimlessly around Jacques's 'yard' as he called it. Eventually she ended up standing beside Lilystream. Before she could ask anything the medicine cat spoke first, "Listen, Silverswirl, I'm sorry about what happened last night. I-I thought you knew." She shook her head in shame as she spoke.

"And I overreacted," Silverswirl responded, "I should've known the signs anyways. It's probably all the stress the clan's been under lately and I've been so busy. It was hard to tell."

Lilystream nodded her head in agreement, "If I may, there's one thing that I ask of you, just one thing."

"Yes, what is it?"

"When we get back to camp…you'll have to go to the nursery. It can't wait any longer and if you continue pushing yourself like you have been lately, it could hurt the kits."

Silverswirl was silent for several seconds, "I…I can't hunt anymore…I can't defend our borders or look after my brothers? I have to become something of a leper and just sit around while I let other cats do all the work for me?!"

"Silverswirl," Lilystream interjected, "calm down! I'm sorry but you must."

The fire in her heart cooled down slightly. Her voice became quiet once more as she inquired one last time, "Who shall I tell the clan is the father. He wants nothing to do with me and probably even less with the kits."

The medicine cat's voice was soothing and tranquil, "I know it'll be hard and many will ask, but you can choose for the father to remain unknown. You have that choice and if I were you I would use it in this particular case."

Silverswirl was about to argue but was interrupted by the sound of Jacques pushing his head through the same hole.

A weight that had been holding down all the cats for the entirety of Leaf-bare lifted. Their breath whooshed out of them in ecstatic relief at the sight of the loner. His jaws were laden full of the sweet smelling herb. He spat out the bunch before he ran in for more. Soon there was enough for every cat in the patrol to have an entire mouth full. Enough to cure the entire clan.

When he came out for the last time Hawkstar praised him saying, "Thank you Jacques! You have no idea how amazing this is; how life-saving this little herb is. SunClan will be forever in your debt."

Jacques shook his head, "I did what I thought was right in my eyes. I do not want anyone to be in my 'debt'."

"Very well then," turning to the patrol Hawkstar added, "is everyone ready?" They all picked up their own mouthful of the precious herb and nodded their heads. "Okay, SunClan, move out!"

They couldn't jump on top of the fence with their mouths full of catmint so Jacques showed them a different way…a much more dangerous way.

Unfortunately, they were going to have to go through the quiet thunderpaths to find their way out of the twoleg place. The danger in it wasn't the twolegs' monsters, or the twolegs themselves. It was that they were going to be roaming in the open straight through the rogue cats' territories.

From what Jacques had told her before their fight and from what she had heard the other loners say she was able to deduce that these were no ordinary cats. The leader, Offenseur, or Off for short, was brutal and cold. He would and could kill you if he was given the chance. Power hungry, he rounded up all the willing cats he could and began to take over the twoleg place. If you were found in his territory you were given two choices: join them or die. Most died.

Off's second in command, Talon, was rumored to be even worse. He could kill you with a tiny flick of the paw. If he found you there were no choices, you were dead before you could even defend yourself. Also, he would recruit little kits as new members of their gang. Some would die in training while others would fight their way to the top and become as bloodthirsty as him.

Apparently there was only one cat in the group that had a little bit of emotion. Ruisseau was her name. Talon had killed her only kit to make her join their group. Although she hated them she didn't want to die so she joined. She had taken over care of the new recruits. One kit stood out from them that she took particular care of. His name was Émeraude and he looked exactly like her kit. She had taken on full responsibility for him and never let him out of her sight.

Silverswirl remembered all of this as she padded down the stone paths after her patrol. It seemed all too quiet. There were no sounds of life, neither twoleg nor nature. The rest of the patrol was equally uneasy. Rockclaw and Cinderfur kept checking over their shoulders every few steps while Blackear and Aspentail kept their eyes fixated on the horizon. Hawkstar watched Jacques as he snaked his way through the never-ending maze of thunderpaths. They took one last right turn and they were able to see the country again. The sight of the rolling hills made them all walk a little bit faster.

Suddenly she was on the ground before she could take another breath. The catmint was sent flying through the air as Silverswirl fought to regain her balance. Screeching and hissing filled the air as the world tumbled around in her vision. She blindly lashed her claws out into nothingness towards the sound of pawsteps.

Silverswirl could feel the claws tear into her back and she screamed in agony. The pain was excruciating but she managed to counter-attack. By now she could see that she was fighting a long-furred tabby she-cat. She circled her menacingly letting a terrible hiss pass through her lips as her vision finally adjusted. Her eyes were fixed on her attacker but she could hear that the remainder of the patrol had been ambushed.

All at once the she-cat stiffened and whispered, "Vous êtes enceinte?! You're going to have kits?"

Silverswirl said nothing but wrapped her tail protectively around her growing belly. She could feel her hackles rise as she crouched and prepared for another onslaught of claw and fur. The tabby backed up step by step and hissed ever so quietly, "Run now, while you have a chance," Silverswirl was frozen in surprise, "Go! Take your forest friends with you before Talon gets here. He won't be so forgiving…"

She finally got it. The tabby, who Silverswirl could only guess was Ruisseau, gave some sort of signal to the others. One by one they stopped fighting and backed away from the clan cats. They didn't need to be told twice. Quickly, they grabbed the herbs from the cold ground and began running up the path towards the nearing countryside.

Everyone was wounded and bleeding. Redfoot's ear was badly torn and blood was dripping down into his eyes. Both Rockclaw and Cinderfur were running with an odd gait from deep wounds in their legs. The rogue cats were almost better fighters that the SunClan cats were!

They were just about to reach the top of the hill that signaled their leave from the twoleg place when Blackear gave a warning howl. Growing figures in the distance were taking the shape of a dozen or so cats. As they got closer she recognized some of the same cats from the previous attack. Even Hawkstar knew that they couldn't fight them off this time, they were too weak. They were going to be killed like easy prey.

"Hawkstar," Aspentail mewed, "How are we going to fight them?!"

The leader was silent for a moment before replying, "We'll try our hardest, but we won't win. We can't win." The reality of their situation began to sink in. Cinderfur said a quick prayer to StarClan then unsheathed her claws, ready to go out with a vengeance.

"No." Jacques whispered, "No, I will not let you die." All of them were staring at the loner now, "You've helped me out these past moons and now it's my turn. Run as fast as you can for the forest…I'll hold them off."

"Jacques, what are you talking about?" Silverswirl whimpered. She knew what he meant but she wouldn't let herself believe it, "You can't!" The rest of the patrol were staring at the two in shock. Realization of what they were seeing crossed their faces. Hawkstar even looked slightly sad.

"I'm sorry Silverswirl. Sorry for the things I said before. I will always love you and you know it."

Her thin frame was trembling, "Jacques, please-"

"This is what I was meant to do. You are my light, Silverswirl, my own personal sun. I will always watch over you and our kits." He said as he rubbed his cheek against hers.

"I will never stop loving you Jacques. Never."

Both of them savored the moment for a heartbeat before Jacques turned to the rest of the cats, "Go now! Run before they get here! Save our kits!"

Hawkstar nodded to the patrol and the sprinted for the trees. Just as they passed under the cover of the branches did she look back. All she could see were dark smudges drawing back towards the twoleg place. Silverswirl could make out their pelt colors and she could tell how many were there. Jacques's wasn't one of them.

Her love, her life, was dead.


	12. Chapter Eleven

_**Part II**_

"_I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."_

_-Rosa Parks_

Chapter Eleven

Feathertail watched with concern as the last of the patrol's tails waved out of the entrance. Her mate, Rockclaw, was going with them. Although he had promised her that it was safe she couldn't be sure. With so many either sick, weakened, or gone on the mission the camp was left virtually unprotected.

Leopardkit was in between her front legs staring after her father, "Momma, where's Father going?"

She looked down to her daughter with a fake smile, "He's going away for awhile."

"Why?"

"Because he must help the clan." Seeing the confused look on her face she added, "C'mon Leopardkit, it's time to go back to the nursery."

Feathertail left her kit in the care of Brindlenose. The tabby queen was so near to her kitting that she stubbornly refused to leave the nursery. After making sure that she was comfortable she made her way to the medicine cat den. With Lilystream gone Thrushpaw was sure to be overpowered with the care of the sick cats.

Just as she was about to go in the medicine cat apprentice brushed his way out of the den. He didn't see her and accidentally ran right into her.

"Oh! Feathertail, I'm so sorry!" he immediately apologized.

She chuckled, "I'm alright Thrushpaw, what were you in such a hurry for?"

His shoulders slumped and he replied, barely audible, "Another died."

Feathertail gasped and quietly asked the dreaded question, "Who?"

Sorrow thickened his voice, "I tried everything, everything I knew. There was no helping her."

Her voice was barely audible, "Who was it?"

"I'm so sorry Feathertail, I really am. She's in StarClan's paws now."

Her voice rose an octave, "Please Thrushpaw, just say her name."

His response seemed to slow time to a snail's pace, "Willowfall." Everything was crashing around her as she lost all of her senses. Her daughter, her own flesh and blood was dead. The intelligent, brave, beautiful warrior had succumbed to a stupid disease!

"No…no, no, NO! She can't be dead, she can't!" Several cats emerged from their dens to see who was yelling. Yellowbird and Birchface came to comfort their friend.

"Come on Feathertail, let's go back to the den." Yellowbird soothingly whispered into her ear.

"No, I have to see her!" She broke from their presence and fled into the medicine den. It was too dark for her eyes to adjust quickly but she could smell her daughter's scent through the sickness and death. As her eyes finally adjusted she could see the calico pelt lying limply on the ground. Its scent was still the same but different. It was no longer warm but cold.

Feathertail padded softly up to it and buried her head in its fur. The pain came in great waves that wracked her body. It was as if she was kitting again but worse. Her amazing kit, a piece of her life was gone. Gone and never coming back.

At one point her friends came and returned her to the nursery like a lost kit. The remainder of the day passed in a daze. She only knew that Leopardkit had burrowed herself in her mother's fur and stayed there. That her friends had eventually left the nursery to give her peace and quiet.

In the bleak blackness of her mind she no longer had any kits. Her mate was gone somewhere else and he had left her. She was utterly alone with no one to care for her. It was cold in this place with no warmth whatsoever. There were no surroundings; no trees, no grass, no snow, and no life. The air was hard to breathe, as if she were in a tight closed space. Hours, moons, years could've passed without notice in this never-ending torture.

Then it was over. It was all a horrible dream; a nightmare. Yet she couldn't pinpoint the source of her waking. The moon was still high in the sky and there was no other light besides it. Then she heard it, a low moaning coming from a corner of the den. Feathertail rose shakily to her paws and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. It was Brindlenose!

Feathertail rushed over to her friend and crouched down at her side, "Brindlenose, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"I…I don't know…something…something doesn't feel…right…" was all the queen managed to get out.

"Okay, umm…I'll go get Thrushpaw. I'm sure that he'll know what to do." She spun around and woke up the other queens before she left to get the medicine cat apprentice.

She slid out of the nursery and straight into a snow pile, completely burying herself in the cold fluff. Getting up she shook herself off and slipped and slid to the medicine cat den. It seemed like they had gotten sleet while she was 'gone'. When she finally made it there she quickly mewed, "Thrushpaw, come quick! Something's wrong with Brindlenose!"

He had already been awake tending to the sick so it didn't take him long to gather several herbs and follow Feathertail back to the nursery. As soon as they walked in they were bombarded with queens and kits alike. Rosebloom shushed them and as the oldest queen she spoke first, "I know she's kitting but there's something wrong. It's the right timing and everything but I just can't find the problem."

"Alright, where is she, let me see her." They showed her to where Brindlenose was stretched out in pain. He felt along her abdomen and pressed his ear up to her belly. After several tense seconds he straightened out again and addressed the worried group, "I think it's a dead kit. It's going to be a hard kitting but it has to happen now. Rosebloom, Yellowbird, I need your help. Everyone else needs to back up to the other side of the den. Feathertail, could you fetch me some poppy seeds for later, I forgot them." Turning to Deerswift he added, "I'll need you to watch over the kits. Make sure they don't get in the way." She nodded her head.

Feathertail rushed to the medicine den, grabbed the right herb, and sprinted back. Thrushpaw was massaging Brindlenose's stomach while Rosebloom soothed her with calming words. Feathertail quickly ran over to them and dropped off the herbs. She could scent the fear rolling off of all of them. Thrushpaw was especially worried. She could only guess that it was because Lilystream was gone and all of this was happening.

There was nothing more she could do but help control the rest of the kits. Some of them were scared while others were excited. Leopardkit seemed unsure of what was happening and relentlessly asked the same question, "What's going on? What's happening?" Feathertail didn't want to scare her remaining daughter so she gave a very generic response, "I'll tell you later." And that was the end of the conversation.

The sun was nearly up before she had her first kit; dead. The second kit came shortly after with the first result.

Nobody told Brindlenose that her first two were gone. Nobody had the heart. Through her haggard breathing she was able to get out, "How are they Yellowbird? How many more?"

Thrushpaw replied before the queen could, "They're doing just fine. Only two left, okay?" She nodded her head as another shudder rippled through her body. Another one dead.

Deerswift leaned over to Feathertail and asked, "Why do you think so many of them are…you know."

"I'm not sure but maybe the labor was too long. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened." She hung her head sadly.

The final wave of pain passed through Brindlenose as her last kit came into the world. They were all expecting a fourth dead kit but were taken by surprise. The snow-white kit squirmed back and forth as Brindlenose used the last of her strength to reach back and clean it up.

The cats in the nursery looked on in star-struck amazement at the miracle they had just witnessed. Her last kit, a she-cat, should never have lived. Thrushpaw snapped out of it and proceeded to dose Brindlenose the correct herbs before taking care of the other three kits. Rosebloom and Yellowbird cleaned up the new queen's nest before they settled down for some much needed sleep.

Feathertail stole a glance at the tiny kit. It was pure white with very light silver tabby stripes. She was abnormally small, even for a newborn.

She was just about to go lay down in her nest when Brindlenose whispered to her, "The other three…they-they didn't make it did they?"

"I'm sorry Brindlenose, no." The tabby queen shuddered a breath before Feathertail had the sense to add, "At least you have one. A very beautiful one. What will you name her?"

Brindlenose stared down at her kit and thought a moment, "Ivykit, after my mother. I hope she can be just as strong."

"I'm sure she will be with a great name like that." Feathertail curled up in her nest along with Leopardkit and closed her eyes once more. The last thought she had was of all the death and destruction the past moons had brought upon them, but more life came with a new kit was born. Though death may destroy, life goes on as the new regenerated. Then her world faded to the sleeping black.

Her dreams were not nearly as haunting. She was still in a cold, dark place. Yet, she could sense the presence of something else. Some powerful force that was watching her. They hair along her spine stood up on end as she crouched low, ready to pounce.

Compared to her dream the waking world was blinding. The sun was streaming into the nursery when she opened up her eyes. By the looks of things it was nearly sunhigh. Cats were strewn about camp getting as much of the warmth as they could before it disappeared behind gray clouds again. Feathertail stretched long and low before wandering over to the fresh kill pile. Only one thin bird was lying there and it didn't smell so fresh.

She sniffed it over for any signs of decay before taking it to the nursery. Brindlenose would be starving from last night. As she was walking Birchface caught up to her.

"Is it true? Did only one of Brindlenose's kits survive?" She asked inquisitively.

Feathertail sighed, "Yes. The other three didn't make it."

"Oh…I just can't believe it."

Before Feathertail could say anything more a murmur broke through the camp. The catmint patrol had returned. All of them were badly limping or scarred. Every single one of them was caked with blood. Contrasting their bad condition was the herb they carried in their jaws. The entire patrol had brought back the much needed precious herb, catmint!

But Feathertail didn't see any of this, she only saw her mate. Rockclaw had a long gash running down his right side and numerous others dotting his body. She immediately ran forward to meet him and pressed herself against him to steady him. He graciously accepted her help until they reached the center of the camp.

Rosebloom and Deerswift had also run out to help their mates. Thrushpaw was sitting closely to his sister, Silverswirl, addressing her wounds first. Lilystream, wounds undressed, was checking Blackear's wounds while Longwhisker searched for his 'mate', Brindlenose.

"What's wrong Feathertail? You seem down." Rockclaw asked her as he sensed her depressed mood.

She honestly didn't know how to tell him. How could she break it to him that he had lost his eldest kit? How could she tell him that he would no longer scent her sweet smell or hear her intelligent words?

Steadying her breath she began, "Willowfall…she-she didn't make it…"

He seemed confused, "What," his breathing picked up, "she-she didn't make it? She's dead?" Feathertail nodded her head.

"No, she can't be! We have to catmint right here! Why couldn't she live for just one more day!?" Rockclaw was angry now, but only to hide his grief.

"Please my love, calm down. There was nothing that could've helped her if she had made it to today." She explained.

He took several deep breaths before he spoke again, "I'm sorry that I exploded like that. I'll just miss her so much."

At that moment Hawkstar yowled from below the Highstump, "You're all here so I might as well explain what happened. We were able to acquire the catmint but at a cost. At the outskirts of the twoleg place we were ambushed. The loner, Jacques, saved our lives at the cost of his own. He sacrificed himself for SunClan. I would like to give him an honorary place in our clan and commend him to StarClan."

Taking another breath he continued, "I, Hawkstar, leader of SunClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look to the loner, Jacques. He saved our clan from certain doom and should be commended to our clan in his turn. From this moment on he shall be a warrior of SunClan. May StarClan light his path and let him join you ranks." He turned back to Lilystream but doubled back, "I almost forgot, there will be a vigil for him tonight for any cat that wishes to remember him one last time."

The clan was silent for several moments. It wasn't the first time a loner had joined their clan, but it was certainly the first time they had joined after their death.

"How's Leopardkit, is she okay?" Rockclaw's voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes she is. She's just a little shaken is all."

"I don't blame her." He looked towards the line of cats waiting to be tended to, "I'd better get these wounds dressed before Lilystream snaps at me."

She laughed, the first time in a long time, "Alright then, I'll head back to the nursery, Leopardkit will probably be worried."

When she walked into the warm den she was surprised to see Silverswirl sitting in there. She wasn't looking at Brindlenose's kit but it was as if she were waiting for someone. Her injuries had already been dressed. Her entire abdomen was wrapped in leaves and cobwebs. Several poultices coated small scratches.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely

"Um, yes you can," Silverswirl began uncertainly, "Is there an empty nest for me? Lilystream's making me sleep in here now."

Confusion flickered across Feathertail's face, "You're having kits?"

"Yes I am." Sadness weaved thickly in her voice

Feathertail was surprised. She was only several moons out of apprenticeship and she was already going to be a mother. Another question played in the back of her mind. She had never seen Silverswirl close to any of the toms in the clan. So, she asked the inevitable question, "Who's the father?"

Silverswirl stared at her blankly for a moment. Grief filled her features ever so slightly, "It was someone I'm sure you wouldn't approve of." Her voice sounded like she was being accused of a shameful crime.

"Come now, I'm not blaming you for anything. All I'm asking is who the father is," she briefly glanced around the nursery. Brindlenose was asleep along with most of the kits. The rest of the queens and kits were outside greeting the returning warriors, "You only have to tell me."

The silver tabby saw what she meant and took a deep breath, "It…it was Jacques." With the last of her words she looked away in shame.

"He was a loner though…outside of the clan…" Feathertail saw her face go from shame to overwhelming grief.

"Although he wasn't part of our clan he is now. He was always part of the clan to me." She whispered.

Feathertail somewhat understood. She had lost her mate, the father of her kits, and it wasn't going to be easy for her. "I'm sorry, I'm being inconsiderate. I'll keep the father's identity a secret if you wish."

Silverswirl bowed her head gratefully, "Thank you so much for understanding, but everyone will eventually find out anyways." Feathertail showed her some moss and left to get something to eat for the new queen. Just as she was leaving she glimpsed something in the corner of her vision.

It looked like a cat yet different. Stars twinkled in and around it. Its pelt was the color of the midnight sky in Greenleaf. She turned around to get a better look but it was gone. Who was that mysterious cat, and why had it been watching the queens?


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

The camp was silent the next morning. Only a few cats left for the dawn patrol while Redfoot guarded camp. Feathertail stretched outside the nursery for a moment before padding through the slushy snow to check the fresh-kill. It was still a small pile, too small, but there was enough.

She grabbed up a small bird and took it back to the nursery. In spite of the terrible leafbare, there were still a lot of kits and queens to feed. And now, they had Silverswirl.

Silverswirl…Jacques…she knew that they had loved each other, but this. Having kits with a cat outside the clan…it just wasn't right! If SunClan was what it should've been, strictly adhering to the warrior code, Silverswirl would've been banished.

Feathertail laughed to herself though. Most of the clan was build upon loners, kittypets, and other cats. There only could've been at least three or four 'pure' clan cats. That's why SunClan was so diverse in every aspect. And, to be frank, Feathertail liked it that way.

Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed Silverswirl stretching in the middle of the clearing. She must've been the only one to keep vigil for Jacques all night long.

After dropping off the bird in the den she came right back outside. The camp was beginning to stir as the low hum of voices filled the air. Ever since the previous day spirits had been higher. More cheerful for once than morose. Even her brother, Hawkstar looked a little healthier.

Blackear joined her at her side, "How are you?" he asked.

Feathertail gave him an odd look, "Good. But shouldn't it be me asking you how you are. You are after all the one who went on the mission only yesterday."

The black-spotted deputy shrugged, "Yes, but we left you all here pretty unprotected."

"Well, we were mostly fine. Except for Brindlenose, but I expect you've heard about that by now." Blackear nodded his head somberly.

"Unfortunately. But, on the bright side, tomorrow is the full moon, and Hawkstar was telling me that we are going to it!"

Feathertail's mouth opened in shock, "Finally! I wonder if all of the other clans think that we've gone extinct?"

Blackear laughed, "Probably. We'll be the clan back from the dead to haunt them! Ooohhh!" She couldn't help but laugh, something she hadn't heard herself do in moons. Blackear continued, "I still can't believe Silverswirl. Expecting kits from a loner!" seeing Feathertail's glare he added, "Don't get me wrong. He was really nice and all, but still. It goes against the warrior code."

"But Jacques is part of SunClan now, whether he's dead or alive. Hawkstar seemed to make that very clear yesterday."

"Huh, I suppose. Would you like to join a patrol? Leopardkit, Brownkit, and Oakkit are old enough to take care of themselves for awhile. Actually, they should be an apprentices at this point." Blackear remarked.

"Well," Feathertail said, giving Blackear a slight shove in the shoulder, "Maybe _somebody, _not pointing tails or anything, should talk to Hawkstar about that."

Both of them laughed again. Then, seeing Lilystream emerge from the medicine cat den, Blackear said, "I should take something to her, she's been working pretty hard." Feathertail nodded her head and went to the warriors' den to talk to Rockclaw. Seeing him still asleep from the previous day she rejoined Blackear at the entrance along with Reedfur, Birchface, and Patchpelt. They slipped out of the den quietly into the snow-covered forest.

It was uneventful, filled with wet paws and snow-filled pelts.

The rest of the day was equally uneventful.

The next day, however, brought a surprise with it. Near sun-high Hawkstar's voice filled the camp, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting."

Once they had all gathered he began again, "I realize with great shame that while I was sick I neglected some of my prime duties as leader. Leopardkit, Brownkit, and Oakkit, would you all please step forward." As they did a murmur spread through the camp and Feathertail sat up a little straighter.

"Leopardkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Leopardpaw. Your mentor will be Redfoot. I hope he will pass down all he knows to you."

Hawkstar then called Redfoot forward and started again, "Redfoot, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Pooltree, and you have shown yourself to be cunning and quick. You will be the mentor of Leopardpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

He then repeated this for both Oakkit and Brownkit, making herself the mentor of Brownpaw and Grassclaw the mentor of Oakpaw. After each apprentice was named the clan repeated their name three times.

And, like any new apprentice, Brownpaw rushed up to her and eagerly began, "So what are we doing first! Hunting techniques, fighting moves, sneak attacks!?"

Feathertail smiled, "First, you're going to change the elders' nests. Then, you're going to bring food to the queens and kits."

Brownpaw's face fell, "What? That's not fun!"

"Not everything about being a warrior is fun, Brownpaw. Now go, before I have you made a kit again." That made him move; when Feathertail looked back he was already gone.

As night began to fall the next night, the camp was alive with noise. Nearly every cat wanted to go along to the Gathering. Hawkstar had to push his way to the Highstump, just so he could announce who was going.

"Quiet, everybody, quiet!" He had to shout this several times before everyone was completely silent. Taking a deep breath, and looking slightly annoyed, he continued, "I can't take everyone with, but those who can't go this time, will go next time. Those going to the gathering this moon will be: myself, Blackear, Rockclaw, Longwhisker, Feathertail, Birchface, Silverswirl, Lilystream, and Thrushpaw."

Feathertail heard Oakpaw in the background say, "What? There's barely any apprentices going!"

Hawkstar shot him a dirty look, "For our first gathering in several moons, we must appear strong. Having new apprentices isn't going to help the fact. And like I said, next time, apprentices will go."

Taking another deep breath he said, "SunClan! Move out!" he jumped down from the Highstump and took lead in the procession of warriors on their way to the gathering.

Feathertail padded next to Rockclaw behind Hawkstar and Blackear. The trip went quickly, even though they hadn't made it in a long time. Because they had left so early, they were the first ones there. It felt good to be out of camp and out of SunClan territory for once.

The clearing at Four Rivers was as big as ever. The flood must've washed through here and carried away all the loose debris. The only major change that Feathertail could discern was a medium-sized downed tree on the edge of the northern side. Other than that, it was the same as ever.

And the tree in the middle of the clearing seemed to have grown even taller. As she was making these observations, OceanClan joined them. Immediately the clearing was filled with the sound of welcomes and cheers. Soon, MarshClan joined the talk, and after them, BreezeClan. Everyone seemed surprised that SunClan even existed after all this time.

Finally, all four leaders leapt to the thick branch and started the Gathering.

Troutstar, of OceanClan, went first, "There may still be snow covering our territory, but we are able to survive of fishing. Fernripple gave birth to two kits the past moon and Stumptail joined our elders. We have no other significant news." From around the clearing came several congratulations to the OceanClan cats.

Next came Robinstar, from MarshClan, "We are not as fortunate as OceanClan. Our elder, Dirtpelt, died from old age. We have no other news." Murmured condolences went out towards MarshClan.

Branchstar, of BreezeClan, came now, "Poppysnow has joined the nursery, Owlpaw has been apprenticed to Lionfang, and we have had moderate hunting. Hawkstar?" He obviously wanted to hear about SunClan more than anything.

Hawkstar nodded his head in thanks and cleared his throat to gather the full attention of all the cats attending, "Several moons ago our clan was hit hard with Greencough. The cats from our clan who have passed from our presence to StarClan are: Nettlekit, Greenkit, Tansyheart, Tortoiseshine, Fallowshine, Cherrydew, Flowerheart, Tigerdapple, Willowfall, and three of Brindlenose's kits." Everyone murmured in dissent at this. They had known they were sick, but they hadn't known the extent of the disease and the toll it had taken on their clan.

Hawkstar continued his report, "We didn't have any catmint until several days ago when a _loner_ was able to help us. In return he was inducted into SunClan as a warrior. Unfortunately, he gave up his life to save ours. If only we had catmint earlier, the list wouldn't have been so long." The clearing, surprisingly, was quiet after this. No one could believe that some strange cat would help out their clan. Then again, they didn't know the full story.

"And finally," he finished, "Silverswirl has joined the nursery, Brindlenose had one kit, Ivykit, and we have three new apprentices. Oakpaw, Brownpaw, and Leopardpaw. That is all we have to report." He then hopped down from the branch and led his clan away from the clearing. However, the rest of the clans stared after them in awe until they were all gone.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

A moon had passed since the first gathering since leafbare. Silverswirl's belly was now swollen to twice its size and she was close to kitting. Lilystream had told her that she was going to have at least three or more kits. Although she was greatly excited for this she still could feel the nagging pain of losing Jacques. He would never get to see his children. He would never see them grow up to be great warriors and fighters.

After the catmint things had gotten better. It was easier to catch prey so they were all better fed. And Fernfeather had finally lost it. She would burst out screaming or just walk around talking to herself. Hawkstar made the choice to have her stay permanently in Lilystream's den. But it didn't make a difference to her; she barely knew where she was most of the time.

But other cats would and had become warriors. Since they had brought back the catmint all of the sick cats had gotten healthy. Because the warriors were healthy they could take on apprentices again. Brownkit, Oakkit, Leopardkit, Petalkit, Owlkit, Squirrelkit, Firekit and Badgerkit had all become apprentices.

Shortly after recovering from greencough Molepaw had had his final assessment. He became Molenose and was well on his way to become a fine warrior. Her other brother, Thrushpaw, had gone to a medicine cat meeting one night and had come back as Thrushtail. Lilystream had felt that because he had helped out so much during the epidemic he deserved his full medicine cat name.

The nursery was slightly less crowded with so many kits gone but it was still full. Rosebloom, Cinderfur, and she were expecting kits. Brindlenose and Deerswift were the only two with kits. Deerswift's kits, Ripplekit and Bluekit, were as sweet as could be. Yet, they really did know how to get under their skin. Ivykit was quiet and still small. She rarely spoke but when she did it was quite smart. What she lacked in size she made up in intelligence.

As the clans changed so did the landscape. Patchy spots of grass stuck up out of the muddy snow. Large drops of water dripped from the trees wherever she went. Even the prey was starting to come out. Although it wasn't always full there were more animals on the prey pile. She could always grab a mouse when she wanted one.

The only trouble Silverswirl had was Rosebloom. Rosebloom didn't approve of her or her kits because their father was Jacques. The calico queen refused to talk to her or even acknowledge her presence. Cinderfur and Brindlenose agreed that Rosebloom was being a mouse-brain but it didn't make a difference. Even Rosebloom's sister, Lilystream, had tried talking to her. Nobody could change her thoughts.

It was especially difficult considering it was Rosebloom who had raised her and her brothers after their mother had died. She had been Silverswirl's mother essentially.

Silverswirl had been thinking of all of these things as she sat alone in the nursery. Most of the queens and kits were out getting some rare sun. Silverswirl didn't feel like moving at all. Then she walked in. Rosebloom's belly wasn't nearly as large as Silverswirl's but it was enough to slow her usually quick gait.

Silverswirl heaved herself to her paws and cleared her throat. Rosebloom pretended not to notice. She rolled her eyes and began talking, "Rosebloom, you can't pretend forever. Please just let me say something to you." The calico queen stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Fine. Make it quick though." She replied testily.

Silverswirl closed her eyes, remembering back to the kit stories she was told by the same queen standing before her. She remembered the one in particular she was thinking about. One she wasn't supposed to tell anymore.

"There once were three kits found by the SunClan border; a tom and two she-cats. Their scents were strange and foreign yet the warriors couldn't ignore the warrior code. They brought back the kits to the medicine cat, Rainfur. Unfortunately, one kit died; the tom. The other two, she-cats, lived. They claimed their names were Augmenté and De Lys." At this point Rosebloom's eyes had grown wide.

Silverswirl did not let this stop her and she continued, "The leader at the time, Berrystar, tried to find their mother but to no avail. Unwilling to turn them out she made them apprentices of SunClan. One of them became a great medicine cat. The other became a gentle queen and mate to the leader. You probably know them today as Lilystream and Rosebloom. So remember this: even the most insignificant loner can turn into the greatest cat in a clan. Never turn those out that can help you."

She finished her story staring straight into her eyes. Before she could say anything Silverswirl added, "Jacques may have been a kittypet, and these kits may be half of him, but that does not mean that they will serve their clan any less. Hawkstar fell in love with a loner. How is that any different from my situation?"

"I-I…I acted so…so juvenile. I'm so sorry Silverswirl!" Rosebloom managed to stutter out.

Silverswirl took a deep breath to calm her, "Thank you. I just want you to understand my situation."

"I had forgotten my humble roots. After so long in the clan those early memories have slowly faded. I…I had forgotten my brother…Roches…" Rosebloom's eyes were distant and vacant, remembering back to her early days in the clan.

Silverswirl decided that it was probably a good idea to leave her alone with her thoughts and left the nursery. As she stepped out into the fading sunlight she caught a few stares from her clanmates. No matter how much time passed she would always be considered as an outsider. Hawkstar may have made her mate an honorary clan member but it made no difference. She had fallen in love with a kittypet.

Molenose was sharing tongues with Thrushtail in a far corner of the clearing. They had given up a lot for supporting their sister in this entire deal. She knew that Molenose's friend, Gorsepelt, had all but forgotten him. She half walked, half waddled over to them and sat down with an emphasized sigh.

Instinctively Thrushtail got up and checked her belly, "It won't be too long now before they come." He announced.

Molenose rolled his eyes dramatically, "Yeah, we know, you've only said that every time you've seen her."

"I'm only doing my job mouse-brain!"

Silverswirl giggled quietly as she let the two bicker for a short time before stepping in, "Come on, and stop fighting you two!"

Thrushtail shot his brother one last look before returning to cleaning his paws.

"I-I talked to Rosebloom…about everything." She admitted.

Thrushtail looked to her with shock, "You mean she actually listened to you?! She wasn't even listening to Lilystream!"

"Yah, I know. I…well, I used the story on her…the one about their arrival at camp."

Thrushtail and Molenose were completely silent. Finally after several heartbeats Molenose spoke quietly, "Silverswirl, you know we were told never to repeat that story ever again. Hawkstar forbade it."

Frustrated she replied, "I realize that and it was a risk I had to take. I mean, what was I supposed to do, live in a den with an angry queen for six more moons?"

"She's right Molenose." Thrushtail admitted.

Molenose only sighed in compliance.

Thrushtail continued, "Silverswirl, I think you should go back to the nursery and get some rest."

"You tell me that every single day! I'm tired of rest; my paws are itching to do something. I need to move."

Her brother sighed, "After you have the kits you can go out into the forest, but for now, you have to stay here. You're too close to kitting."

"I could take a warrior with me, or you, or anyone for that matter." She protested.

Lilystream had apparently heard their conversation and padded over to the three siblings, "Thrushtail, she can go out into the forest just a little. You two go with her," she said, signaling to Thrushtail and Molenose, "And make sure that she doesn't go far." Silverswirl knew that the last comment was aimed at her. Everyone knew that she was always one to explore.

"Thank you Lilystream. Also, I've been meaning to ask you, are you feeling alright?" Silverswirl replied.

Lilystream looked shocked, "Uh, of course. Why would you ask?"

"You've just been slower lately, a little less jaunty."

Lilystream laughed, "It's just being cooped up in the medicine den non-stop. Not everyone is quite 100% yet."

"Oh, okay. Well then," she grunted as she rose to her paws, "We had better be heading out then. It's always good to have sunlight to stroll in." Before her brother could say anything more she was half-way out of the entrance. Her tail was just disappearing when Thrushtail and Molenose ran to join her.

Silverswirl already knew where she was going to go the moment the idea popped in her head. No matter what her brothers said she was going to go there. Though she was weighed down some by her belly it didn't stop her from sprinting through the muddy forest.

Snow was still falling every now and then but it was gradually thinning out as the moon progressed. Water and mud puddles dotted the paths that she was following and broken branches covered some. Here and there she would spot the occasional green plant sprouting out of the hard earth.

From behind her she heard the faint snapping of twigs and Molenose yelling at her to slow down. She was still one of the fastest in the clan. Soon the tall oak and pines gave way to thinner, wispy aspens and birches. The undergrowth became increasingly thick until it gave way to full blown prairie.

Silverswirl paused for a moment to remember back to that horrible day. Slowly she remembered which way they had come from and turned to the west slightly until she was facing the right way. Dense grasses rose up before her as she began her trek through the meadows.

She was alone out there in the open. Nothing was protecting her. Yet somehow, she felt safe. A glint of black up ahead confirmed her suspicions. The star-cat was watching her again. Silverswirl followed it into the tall grass. This didn't feel like the right way but she had faith in the mysterious cat's directions.

Then she came to it. It was a flattened area of grass, only the size of three or four warriors put together. The grass above her was bent over as if she were in a cave. Bits of fur and several tiny bones were all that was left in it. The air was filled with the scent of different animals; some prey and some predator.

But the one scent that stood out among them all was faint. It was barely there, as if hanging by a thin tendril. Only the fur and bones was a reminder of it. It was her one and only, her very world, her love, her Jacques.

Just then her brothers caught up with her. Their sides were heaving for air as they rested.

"Wha-What were you do-doing?!" Thrushtail angrily demanded.

"It's to-too dangerous out he-here." Molenose added.

Silverswirl simply rolled her eyes, "You know I can defend myself perfectly fine. I just needed to come out here." She took one last look at the remains of her love, "We can go back to camp now."

Thrushtail started to rant, "You could've been attacked by a fox or badger or fallen in a hole or tripped on something or-"he didn't get to finish as all three of them scented something different on the air.

It smelled like twoleg smoke and filth. It smelled like the rogue cats.

She let out a low hiss and tensed her muscles. Her brothers smelled it to and immediately surrounded her protectively.

The scent slowly withdrew from them as the rogues left the area. They were lucky, but they didn't want to take any chances. Quietly at first and then quickly they left the exposed meadow and returned to the cover of trees. Silverswirl didn't stop running until she was back in the camp.

Briefly she glimpsed Molenose slip into Hawkstar's den to report the incident. Thrushtail was heading towards the medicine den; probably to get some sort of herb for her. Silverswirl herself inconspicuously returned to the nursery. With all the running she was thoroughly tired out.

As she lay down she heard Hawkstar shout for a clan meeting. Whatever he had to say she would get from Feathertail tomorrow. For now, she needed sleep. Through the blur of her heavy eyelids she saw the outline of another cat in the den. A faint aura surrounded it as it walked up to her. Then, her world went black as she fell into a deep sleep.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Silverswirl woke with a jolt. The sun was just beginning to sink down below the trees of

the surrounding forest. Long shadows covered the dens and clearing with random splashes of light.

Suddenly, she felt something. It was like a small shudder and twitching were passing through her body. As if something was slowly tightening its grip around her. There was only one thing it could be. She was kitting.

All of the queens were already asleep across the den. The rise and fall of their bodies gave that much away. "Brindlenose! Rosebloom!" She yelled over to them, "Come quick!"

Bleary eyed, Rosebloom looked up, "Wha' is it?" she asked.

"I…I think I'm having my kits!" Silverswirl managed to stutter out.

Rosebloom's eyes flew open and she immediately rushed over to her side. "Did it start just now? Does it hurt?" her eyes were deadly serious as she recited the questions.

She thought a moment before answering, "Uh, yah. I just woke up."

Rosebloom nodded and turned to Cinderfur, who had joined them, "Go get Lilystream."

She nodded and dashed out. Deerswift was in a corner with the kits that had woken up.

After several tedious moments the medicine cat and her apprentice came in. She pushed the concerned queens out of the way and began to check Silverswirl over. Thrushtail bent over and comforted his sister.

The process was long and tiring, but by the end of the night she had four mewling little kits by her side. The pain was something Silverswirl would rather forget. But all in all it was worth it. She loved them more than anything.

The first one was fluffy and pure white. She seemed to be nothing but fur and fluff. Silverswirl named her Mintkit.

Her second kit was the complete opposite of the first. Poppykit was fluffy and black. She was slightly larger than her sister but she was just as puffy.

Her third kit was Morningkit. She was a carbon copy of her mother. Silver, swirly, and sleek; she was a mini Silverswirl.

And finally there was Dawnkit. She was beautiful in her mother's eyes, but plain in everyone else's. She had a brownish-grey tabby pelt with sprawling legs and a winding tail. Her fourth and final kit was an exact copy of Jacques. There was no mistaking his distinctive markings on their daughter.

They nuzzled close to their mother to get milk. Poppykit was the first, being the largest and it quickly became clear who would be the leader in the group. Mintkit lagged behind the rest of them. She was confused at first but soon found her way.

Molenose had joined them in the nursery and was looking down at her kits lovingly. It dawned on Silverswirl that Molenose would be their male influence. With no father and Thrushtail always being busy as a medicine cat, he was the only one left. But she knew that he would gladly do it.

A flash of purple-black brought her thoughts back to her mother. Hopefully Iceleaf was proud of her and her kits. And now the mystery cat, who Silverswirl was almost certain was her mother, was watching over her. It sat in the entrance of the den, behind everyone else. Then, as quickly as it arrived, it was gone.

With her energy drained she took the last of the herbs Lilystream had given her and fell asleep. Numb sleep seemed a whole lot better than being awake at the moment.

Unfortunately, she was wrong. She hadn't been haunted by her nightmares for such a long time. They were back again and they were as bad as ever.

The murky water was crushing her yet again. Currents dragged her along helplessly as she pounded furiously against them. From the surface came the ever present mews of small kits.

The only differences in her dreams now were that the kits had faces. Her kits, her very own, formed in her head as she struggled. They were in trouble and she had to help them. If she didn't…they wouldn't…they'd… She didn't want to think about what would happen if she couldn't help them. The thought troubled her too much. Instead, she focused on forcing her way upward.

Rippling light began to form above her head as she made her way up. The air in her lungs was beginning to deplete. One paw-stroke at a time she got closer and closer. Just as she was about to reach her right leg through the water she woke up.

Morningkit was mewling pitifully on the other side of the nest. She must've gotten cold over there all alone. Everyone else was still sleeping peacefully.

She sighed and picked up her kit by her scruff and set her down in between her other sisters. She whimpered a bit until she was completely warm again.

Silverswirl's paws were itching again to go out. Not into the forest, just into the clearing to stretch her paws.

Through the entrance of the den she could see that dawn was just beginning to break over the tree tops. Rosy pink light combined with cold oranges and yellows spread through the sky. Scattered clouds tainted with reds wisped across the sky seemingly at random.

As she watched flocks of ducks in a broken V formations were making their way north where they would lay their eggs and raise their young. A thing they only did in Newleaf.

She slowly sucked in her breath. If Newleaf was starting that meant that the cold weather would be gone until Leaffall. That meant there would be no more sickness. Maybe her clan would pull through after all.

Maybe…


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Morningkit, Poppykit! Get back here!" Silverswirl called after her kits. They had gotten the idea in their heads that they had to explore every single mouse-length of camp. But getting under all of the warriors paws didn't justify their curiosity.

Rosebloom was laughing quietly in the entrance with her. Brindlenose was sleeping again. Deerswift was out hunting and Cinderfur was enjoying her last moments of freedom before having the responsibility of kits.

Rosebloom's kits had been born two moons after hers. They were still very young and didn't venture out of the nursery yet. Amazingly, she had had five kits in total. Icekit, Berrykit, Mosskit, Jaykit, and Sparrowkit.

Ivykit was always romping around after the apprentices nowadays. It was as if she already was one! Deerswift's kits loved to go bother their father at all times possible. Aspentail didn't care though; he loved to play with them.

Silverswirl stepped out into the patchy sunlight and made her way across the clearing to where her kits were attempting to drag a raven to the nursery. It was as large as both of them combined and it was taking a big effort for both of them. Morningkit had the birds back across her own back. Poppykit was trying to hold up its heavy head by grabbing onto its neck.

As soon as she reached them she picked up the bird and they followed after her to the nursery.

"Mama," Poppykit complained, "We almost had it there!"

Morningkit chimed in, "Yah, we were so close!"

"Well, how about I make it up to you?" Silverswirl began, "Once we finish our meal I'll ask your fa—uncle if he can manage to bring back some moss from his patrol." She had almost said father. Unfortunately, she was still having a tough time adjusting to not having her mate around.

All of her kits bounced up and down eagerly. Suddenly she noticed something out of place, "Where's Mintkit?" she asked.

"I think I saw her following Thrushtail around earlier." Dawnkit said.

Silverswirl looked up at Cinderfur, "Could you watch them for a moment?" The grey queen nodded her head and Silverswirl left the nursery.

There was the most logical place to check first, the medicine cat den. She poked her head inside only to see Sharpfur sleeping peacefully. He must've been having some stomach-aches again. She already knew Lilystream had gone out to collect herbs earlier.

Next she checked the elder's den. There she found her brother and her daughter. Mintkit was watching diligently as Thrushtail made a Goldenrod poultice. She reached up on her tiny paws to watch as he rubbed it into Brightstripe's shoulder. Her grey eyes widened to twice their size as she let out a little squeak of joy.

Thrushtail purred in amusement at her wonder. He looked up to see his sister standing in the den's entrance. Looking back down to his niece he said, "Now Mintkit, I have a very important job for you to do, ok?" the small white kit fiercely nodded her head up and down, "I need you to make sure Brightstripe's okay while I talk to your mother."

She bounced up and down in excitement. As soon as she thought they were out of earshot she whispered, "Please tell me a story, Brightstripe, please?"

Both of them meowed in laughter at the kit's innocence.

Thrushtail turned to his sister as they strode back to the medicine cat den, "I think we have a future medicine cat on our hands."

"Well, as much as she would like that she'll have to wait her turn. That spot is currently occupied." Silverswirl shoved against her brother's shoulder gently.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked over at her brother. His face appeared worried.

She sighed gently, "Thrushtail, I just—I just miss him so much still."

They stopped just outside the entrance to the medicine cat den, "I know you loved him Silverswirl, but the pain will eventually fade." The sound of her kit's squeaks as they rolled around in the newleaf mud caused them to both turn their heads. "You must move on. If not for yourself then for the sake of your kits."  
Only shaking her head in agreement she turned back to her daughters, "Dawnkit, Poppykit! Stop getting your pelts all dirty!"

The froze at the sound of their mother's voice. Poppykit turned slowly and stammered, "It-it was all Ripplekit's idea! He said it would be fun."

Barely audible she could hear Morningkit whisper to her sister, "And he was completely right."

Silverswirl smiled, "That only means that you'll have to have another bath." All three of their faces drooped in guilt and horror. They absolutely hated having to get cleaned.

"But what about Molenose and the moss?" Morningkit complained, "We can't go and find him if we're being cleaned."

She didn't want to tell her daughter that her logic made no sense at all but she just shook her head, "Alright, go find your uncle."

As they raced off towards the warriors den she called out, "But that still means you're all going to get cleaned at one point or another!"

Thrushtail was behind her again, "You can't keep living in the past."

"I know. I know…" Silverswirl finished. She would never forget him, but she had to move on. Her children shouldn't see her grief for someone who wasn't there.

Just then her kits were back. Rolling and tripping over each other with excitement. Somehow, they had gotten a hold of a moss ball that quickly. Dawnkit was trying to use it as prey while Poppykit was preparing to pounce on Dawnkit. After Poppykit tackled her sister, Morningkit came in and sneaked the moss away.

Mintkit came running up and joined in on the action. One squeaking mass of different colored fur and fuzz.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join her beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting!" Hawkstar's voice rang out clear through the crisp air.

Silverswirl turned around to see Deerswift nodding her head; signaling that she would take care of the kits while she joined the rest of the clan. She took a seat next to Feathertail and Rosebloom and looked into the crowd.

Sure enough, there sat Brindlenose and Ivykit at the front, directly beneath the Highstump.

Hawkstar looked down at the small kit and then back to his clan "Ivykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ivypaw. Your mentor will be Birchface. I hope Birchface will pass down all she knows to you."

He then turned to Birchface, who had joined Ivypaw at the front, and resumed the ceremony, "Birchface, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Pooltree, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and spirited. You will be the mentor of Ivypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

Birchface then reached down and touched noses with her new apprentice. The newly named Ivypaw was shaking with excitement. The rest of the clan called out Ivypaw's name and congratulated her. But she still had a long path before she was to be a full warrior of SunClan.

Silverswirl remembered back to simpler times when the only thing that mattered to her was perfecting her pounce or getting her tail low enough to the ground. Patchpelt always commenting on how she could fix one thing or the other. Now she had to watch her own kits go through that process.

After congratulating her she set out to the warrior's den. Molenose was in there taking a mid-afternoon nap. She nudged him awake, "Come on, I'm going for a walk. Come with me?"

"Can't you go by yourself?" he mumbled, half awake-half asleep.

She only rolled her eyes, "You know as well as I do that Thrushtail would have a fit." Mimicking his voice she said, "Silverswirl! You're too fragile to be out in the forest by yourself! Silverswirl, think about your kits! Silverswirl, Silverswirl, Silverswirl!" She paused, "Plus we can check out the shells. There's bound to be a lot of them."

Molenose laughed, "Yah, yah I get it. It scares me how accurately you can imitate him." He thought for a moment, "Who's taking care of the kits?"

"Rosebloom I think."

"Alright then, let's go."

They wandered out into the forest. It was just coming alive again. Tiny buds of leaves peeped out of the branches. Here and there were small patches of grass making their way through last leaffall's rotting leaves. Somewhere a squirrel chattered angrily. A bird flitted from twig to twig, happy to be back in its home.

"I'm glad things are back to normal." Molenose whispered softly.

"Almost. Almost back to normal." She corrected. Sharpfur was still suffering with an insistent cough.

"Yah, right." He paused, "Are you alright Silverswirl? You always seem distant. Like…like there's the whole jagged peaks between us."

She stopped walking and turned to her brother, "What do you mean?"

He looked uncomfortable as he blurted out, "Thrushtail's worried about you. He says that you're obsessing too much about…about the past."

Of course he would do something like that, "I am. I just need to find some way to get past what happened." Quietly, much too quiet for Molenose to hear, she muttered, "Revenge would be perfect."

Once they reached the stream separating them from OceanClan she sat down. All sorts of seashells got washed up here from the ocean and now there were literally hundreds of them. The snow had covered them up all winter.

Hard browns and grays were the normal hue but several soft pinks and yellows peeked their way through. One in particular caught Silverswirl's eye.

It was sky blue. Deeper blue flecks spattered its surface. Murky brown mud was half-covering it up, nearly hiding it from the world.

Picking it up she found her brother again, searching down the shore, "What about this one?" she asked, spitting it out.

He studied it for a moment, "That's one of the weirdest ones I've ever seen. Let's take it there."

Silverswirl nodded. They were going to add it to the collection they had started when they were just kits.

One afternoon they had gone out to explore the forest. Silverswirl's mother had already died at that point so it was Rosebloom who had taken them out. She remembered it like it was yesterday.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"Come, kits. You don't want to get lost." The queen called to them. Thrushkit was bouncing up and down excitedly at some sort of plant. Small, round, bright red berries hung tentatively from the green leaves.

"Look! It's wintergreen!"

"Gee," Silverkit muttered sarcastically to her other brother, Molekit, "I wonder what it could possibly do?"

Thrushkit, thinking she was serious, explained, "It heals poisons and you can help wounds!"

Rosebloom looked at the berries and chuckled, "Are you sure that's what it is?"

Thrushkit turned back around and bounded back to the plant. After taking several deep breaths a disappointed look came to his face, "They're holly berries, aren't they?"

The calico she-cat nodded her head.

"Rosebloom," Molekit asked, "How do you know so much about herbs?"

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed it yet." She waited for a few moments to see if the three of them could get it. Then, she looked directly to Thrushkit, "Who's the medicine cat of SunClan?"

"Lilystream!" He yowled.

"And who is Lilystream's sister?" Rosebloom added.

"You?" Silverkit guessed.

"That's right." Rosebloom looked at all of them, "Why don't we go down to the stream."

All of them immediately became excited at the prospect of seeing the stream. It was the definite border between them and OceanClan. Plus, it let out into Great River, which was as close as they had ever been to the Sea.

The Sea was a place of nursery tales and dreams. It was the place where the sun drowned every night. It was the home of terrible swimming beasts and plucked kits up like a leaf. It was frightening, it was terrible, and it was beautiful.

As soon as they arrived Thrushkit began to look for the various herbs Lilystream had shown him. All of them knew he was going to be a medicine cat, whether he liked it or not. His silverly pelt quickly became brown with mud as he scavenged through the substance to find some sort of plant that had survived the winter.

Molekit nudged his sister and nodded his head towards a break in the twigs where they could go exploring.

She nodded her head and they both left when Rosebloom's back was turned. After squirming their way through they followed the stream. Brightly colored shells dotted the shore randomly.

"Hey, look at this one!" Molekit called. Silverkit joined him and looked at it. A light blue with deeper blue flecks.

"Let's leave it. It's too pretty to take." She answered. Instead, she picked up an odd shaped brown one.

They continued walking. Eventually, Molekit found a pinkish-brown shell and picked it up too.

Soon, it began to get dark. Long shadows covered the forest in dark green and brown hues. The water rushing past them and the odd night bugs overpowered their hearing. A small lump grew in Silverkit's throat.

She dropped her shell, "Do you think we should head back?"

Her brother turned confidently to his sister, "Why should we? It's too fun out here!" Looking around he added, "It's like we're great explorers of the land. Out on a mission from StarClan!"

Her fear disappeared, "Yah, okay! Let's find a place to hide our treasures first." She said, pointing to the shells.

Instead of following the bank they turned into the forest and soon found a large, knarled tree. It was partially hollow with numerous holes in it. They sniffed along the bottom until they found a large one that formed a large space underneath the tree.

It was exceptionally easy for them to worm their way under it and set up their own 'camp'. The hole was warm and cozy, enough for them to begin to fall asleep. Just before she slipped into the welcoming sleep she thought of something.

"Molekit?"

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"Could you tell me that story again? The one about the brave queen?" she pleaded.

"You know it don't you?"

"Yah, but you tell it the best. Next to Rosebloom that is."

He rolled his eyes, "Sure." Clearing his throat he began, "Not so long ago, before we were born, there was a brave queen. She had three little kits, which were so small, that they hadn't even opened their eyes yet."

Silverkit could just picture the tiny kits in the nursery.

Molekit continued, "One day, a neighboring clan snuck into camp and stole the kits right out from the queen's whiskers! When she woke up she was devastated to find her beloved kits missing. But the cunning queen followed the trail that the clan had so easily left. In fact, it led her right to their camp."

Her imagination was carrying her over the jagged peaks, through faraway lands and seas.

"She took her kits back and ran as fast as she could back to SunClan camp! But the thieves were following her. She had no choice but to go through the Great River. On the opposite shore were her clanmates, ready to help, on her side, her enemies. She splashed into the water and paddled for all her might, but it wasn't enough. The queen tossed her kits to the shore just as she was sucked off of the waterfall. The brave queen gave up her life for her kits, like any mother should."

He paused. Silverkit had fallen asleep. If only she were so easy to quiet all the time. The air was dropping steadily and he curled up even closer to his sister. Soon, both of them were asleep.

The sun rose to the shouts of cats in the forest. All of them were shouting either one or both of two things, "Silverkit! Molekit!"

The two small kits emerged from their treasure den right into the paws of the deputy, Blackear. He yowled to the rest of the patrols and returned them back to camp.

After a thorough scolding and an extra moon added on to their kithood, they were back to normal. Ever since then it had been a tradition of her brother and her to go back to that makeshift 'den' whenever they found a neat shell and hide it there. Their collection had steadily grown until the whole floor of the hole had been filled up.

Even now, as Silverswirl and Molenose made their way there her mind travelled over the distant peaks and seas. It did this even though she knew who the brave queen was. Even though the memory was painful.

Iceleaf, her mother, had given her life so that her kits may live. She had been taken by the waterfall. She had been the brave queen.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Feathertail's ears perked up as Blackear called her name.

"Feathertail! Get Brownpaw, we're going on a border patrol." The deputy called out.

She raced into the apprentice's den where her apprentice was still sleeping, "Get up you lazy furball!" he just grunted in reply. She rolled her eyes, "Unless you don't want to go on a patrol."

He flew up, as if he had wings. Both of them ran out to join the patrol. Molenose and Redfoot soon joined them before they left.

The forest was in full swing now. The green buds on the trees were just beginning to open up into small leaves and flowers. Wet grass greeted her paws as she stepped out of the entrance. The chattering of squirrels and chirping of birds as they flew overhead warmed her heart. Nearly all the snow was gone. Only in the deepest parts of the forest, where the sun never touched, did it linger. But only then in the shadows. Frost was rare and unwelcome now.

Blackear led them on their usual patrol of the borders. First the stream bordering OceanClan, then the Great River border.

She was glad not to be going on the opposite patrol, on the BreezeClan side. She couldn't stand to see the rocky cliff anymore than she had to. Brindlenose was always asking her to follow her former mate in her spare time since she couldn't go.

Asking to go on continuous hunting trips was starting to get suspicious. So far only Brownpaw asked why he couldn't go with her. She had had to lie and say that she liked time by herself sometimes. Even Rockclaw was starting to not buy that.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as her paws splashed in a mouse-tail deep puddle. The rest of the patrol also seemed startled by the sudden change in wetness. Blackear signaled for them to continue on forward, but slowly.

As they came out of the thick oaks and maples, and into thinner aspens she heard the roar of running water. The stream they shared with OceanClan was overflowing with water. It whipped past them, carrying twigs, branches, and twoleg debris with it.

They stared in shock at the flooded stream. They had all seen the flood season before, but never this bad. All of the snow had melted into the little river and consequently it would begin to seep into SunClan's territory.

Feathertail stretched on her paws to get a view of OceanClan's territory. It was flooded a lot worse than their side. She doubted that they had much land left besides in the trees.

She turned towards Blackear. He was stunned. Composure took over his features quickly though and he ordered, "We'll check out the Great River first. Then we'll go back to Hawkstar." They nodded their heads and headed south to the river.

If the stream was as flooded as this, Feathertail thought, then the Great River must be absolutely terrifying. She was wrong.

Although it was more full than usual it wasn't nearly as bad as the stream. As she wondered why she heard Blackear and Redfoot discussing the same thing ahead of her.

"-ice blocking the water yet?" Redfoot finished.

"It must be. What else could it be?" Blackear said.

Feathertail joined, "I hate to intrude, but what did you think?"

The toms turned their heads. Blackear spoke first, "Redfoot was just telling me about several snows ago. I had forgotten about it until now."

"And…?" Feathertail asked.

"_And_ it just so happened that great ice chunks had blocked off the top of the waterfall. They only allowed minimal amounts of water through. Eventually they broke though, and then the water flow was normal again." Redfoot explained.

"That makes sense." Feathertail agreed. They just all had to stay clear of the water for awhile until the ice-barrier broke.

The moon passed quickly for Feathertail. She went to the Gathering, where the leaders mostly discussed the flooding.

OceanClan had fled to the treetops like frightened little birds. One of their queens had had kits, four to be exact. They felt the need to flaunt this, as if it made them stronger.

Branchstar of BreezeClan only told of soggy grasses in their territory because of the back-up of water. The ice-block apparently was stopping up all the water, causing it to spread out into BreezeClan territory.

In MarshClan territory things had gone from bad to worse. They had retreated to a small sliver of land underneath their side of the cliff. All of their island-territory was covered in swampy water. This too had become overflowed with water. Now, they were living on the top of the cliffs, half-in and half-out of BreezeClan's territory. BreezeClan allowed it only once a year though, during the flooding.

Feathertail had never particularly liked Gatherings. They were always full of either sad events or pompous cats talking about how many new kits they had in their clan.

On the return from that she noticed that the water was picking up. The ice-block would soon burst. When that happened she didn't want to be anywhere near that.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

_**~Silverswirl~**_

Silverswirl gathered her kits for the night. They gathered around her and fell asleep soundly by her side. Within moments of their sleep she too had fallen victim to the warmth of it.

Her dream returned to her yet again. This time though, it was more vivid than ever before. She could hear the panicked mewls of her daughters, she could feel the terrible weight of the water on her lungs. The roaring water blocked off all other senses and she began to grow cold. The heat she was used to left her body until nothing was left but a cold shell of a cat. Yet the swirling cat was with her all the while.

She wanted to claw at it. To tell it to go away. It was slowly becoming a torment of hers. Plus, she was downright sick of the mystery cat. If it could just reveal itself as her mother then her curiosity would be at peace.

Then it dissolved into the water, leaving her alone in the black water. She was completely alone in the silence. No one. Nothing at all. Nothing.

Then she was awake again. The dream was over.

Silverswirl's eyes slowly fluttered open. The dawn was just beginning to break over the budding tree tops. The beautiful spectacle should've been peaceful, but…something wasn't right. It was too cold. Four little pinpoints of heat were missing from her side. The kits were gone!

She glanced around the nursery. Her kits weren't there. She quickly jumped up, "Rosebloom! Cinderfur! Deerswift!" She ran to each of their sides and gave them a quick but sharp bat.

Deerswift responded first, "What in StarClan's name is wrong with you?"

"My kits! Their gone!" Silverswirl was well on her way to a full scale panic attack.

For only the smallest moment there was complete silence in the den. Then, everything broke loose. Rosebloom began to check their scent trail while Cinderfur rushed out into the clearing and other dens. Silverswirl made a bee-line for Hawkstar's den.

Rushing in she nudged him awake. Bleary eyed he lifted his head up to find the source of his waking, "Wha- izzit?" he slurred sleepily.

"It's my kits, they've disappeared!" she half-mewed, half-screamed.

Without a word he leapt to his paws. Running out of his tree-stump den he flew to the warrior's den. Moments later he reappeared with Molenose, Rockclaw, Birchface, and Redfoot. It was seconds before Feathertail appeared with Brownpaw at her side.

Molenose ran up to his sister first. He could see the distress in her eyes, "It's okay, and they'll be okay. I'm sure they were just curious. They're probably going after a stray leaf or something in the forest."

Rosebloom ran back into camp, "I didn't scent anything. It's as if they've just disappeared."

Cinderfur and Deerswift soon returned with the same results.

"Kits can't just disappear." Birchface added, "There has to be some sort of clue."

"We'll split up," Hawkstar began, "Rockclaw, Birchface, take the Northern half of the forest and the meadow. Redfoot, you and I will check the middle and Eastern halves of the forest and the BreezeClan border. Molenose, Silverswirl, and Feathertail, check around any water sources." They all nodded their head in agreement. "Alright, let's go!"

Hawkstar leapt down from the Highstump and headed the group out of the camp's entrance.

Just as they were leaving, Reedfur strode into camp. His fur had a salty tang to it. He was surprised to see an entire patrol assembled so early and stood there for a few moments, baffled.

Hawkstar spoke with a hint of suspicion, "Reedfur, where have you been?"

His reply came quickly, "I couldn't sleep so I went hunting. Not much to find though."

"Near the water?" asked Rockclaw, eyes narrowing as he caught the watery scent clinging to the black toms fur. Reedfur nodded his head.

"Did you scent any kits?!" Silverswirl blurted.

His yellow eyes turned to hers. It was probably the first time he had ever even acknowledged her. Something about him had never seemed right, "No. I didn't."

They stared at each other for a few terrible heartbeats before Rockclaw broke the silence, "Then what are we all standing around here for? Let's go!" Hawkstar nodded his head and signaled for the patrol to follow his lead.

Just outside the entrance they split up. Hawkstar wished them all good luck and rushed into the trees. Her group headed out towards the OceanClan border first. All the time they were checking for any fur or scents.

She remembered back to her terrifying nightmares. Invisible paths seemed to form out of the leafbare's debris. Silverswirl could almost see their tiny paw prints along the forest floor.

Without thinking, she followed it. Molenose and Feathertail were behind her, yelling for her to slow down. A tuft of black fur caught in a thicket caught her eye. But there was no time to stop. Maybe Feathertail or Molenose would see it, but for now her priority was her kits. She knew they were in trouble and she would stop at nothing to save them.

Her heart began to sink lower and lower in her chest as she realized where she was going. The Great River. The flooded river. There was no way anything could survive in that rushing water for very long. Even the fish were gone from there.

She ran up to the bank. The icy cold water closed around her paws. She could see the moss, leaves, and branches fly past her in the river just like her dreams. For a moment she almost turned back. Instincts screaming that she should run back to camp…but her kits brought reality back.

Their mewling was coming from somewhere out in the river. She twisted her head back and forth trying her hardest to spot them. It was Molenose who saw them first, "There! Over on that large log!" She turned her head to where he was looking. Sure enough, there they were. They were caught on a tree trunk that was stuck between several rocks. Rapid water flowed past them in either direction making it impossible for them to escape.

Mintkit's normally white coat was stained with mud. Bits of algae and other plants were caught in all four of the kit's fur. As she was watching she saw Morningkit slip off the edge and fall into the perilous water.

Her eyes widened. There was no question now. She leapt into the water and stroked with all her might. It was no use. The water dragged her downwards. The air flew out of her lungs like a startled bird. She could see the glittering surface of the water getting farther and farther away. Then, something passed her. A tiny silvery figure in the corner of her vision. Morningkit!

She paddled more furiously than she ever had, even in her dreams. Grabbing the limp kit in her jaw she swam upwards. As soon as her head broke the surface she swam for the shore, gasping for breath out of the corners of her mouth. In no time she was there, gently setting her kit on the pebble beach and jumping in to grab her other three kits.

Silverswirl anticipated the cold and the rush this time. Stretching her neck above the water she followed the sound of her kits until she reached the log. They were frightened and scared. She grabbed Dawnkit and Mintkit, they were both so small, and instructed Poppykit not to move. She only nodded her head vigorously. Faster than lightning she was back at the shore. Molenose was making sure that the rescued kits were alright.

"Please, Silverswirl, let me help. Stay here and I'll grab Poppykit." He was about to leap in when she stopped him.

"No." It wasn't a desperate plea but a definite instruction. Molenose stopped. Something in his sister's eyes was commanding. He didn't want to disobey her. Silently he moved back until his tail was wrapped around the soaked kits. He nodded his head. She nodded hers back.

Then she was swimming again. Her strength was nearly gone. Weeds and moss clung to her fur and weighed her down. But nothing was going to stop her. She could see the log. Poppykit was clinging to it with all her might. Her long black fur dragging her slowly underneath the water.

A roar interrupted her strokes for half a second. In the corner of her eye was a monster. Not the twoleg kind but something all more dangerous. Water. Something told her that the last of the ice holding up the river had given way. An entire tree had been caught up in it, large chunks of ice floated on top like small leaves, and the foaming water roared like thunder. It was still in the distance but quickly gaining ground.

She flew herself at her kit, grabbed her in her maw, and swam like lightning back to the shore. Molenose was already retreating with the kits. Several other warriors had caught up to the duo and helped. Rockclaw had Mintkit, Molenose had Morningkit, and Brownpaw had Dawnkit. Feathertail was waiting for them at the shore. Every few seconds she would turn to look at the wave of debris heading towards them. Her paws nervously kneading the ground.

Then the swirling cat was with her. As she swam its form became definite. The swirls no longer looked like the night stars but like silvery fur. The black eyes became icy blue. Midnight colors turned to shades of gray. Her epiphany slammed into her like the oncoming wave. The mystery cat. The one that had haunted her dreams. The one that had been watching her this entire time. It was her. She, Silverswirl, was the mystery cat. It wasn't her mother. Her own death had been waiting for her.

Her energy was restored and she swam through the screaming muscles, the tiredness. She had to escape her doom. She couldn't abandon her kits, not now.

_**~Feathertail~**_

She could see the queen's head bobbing above the surface. Her paws splashed out in front of her franticly. But it wasn't fast enough. The wave was coming, and it was coming fast. Her own paws kneaded the pebbles furiously. If she didn't get out of there fast enough all three of them would be swept out to the sea.

Then something changed in Silverswirl. It was as if new life were breathed into her exhausted body. Her strokes became steady and fast. The wave was almost there. Silverswirl saw it. She stared into Feathertail's eyes, as if telling her life's story. They were filled with sadness, despair, and oddly enough, acceptance.

With the last of her strength she tossed Poppykit up onto the shore. Feathertail grabbed the kit and began to run. When she reached to tree line she set the kit down. She turned around, about to run back out to the shore to help the queen.

Silverswirl heaved herself onto the ragged shore just as Feathertail turned. Both of the females swiveled to face the oncoming water. Silverswirl's body was moving up and down heavily, breathing in air. As if it were her last she would ever take. There was no escaping it now. There was no time left. She was too late. In one moment, only a heartbeat before it hit, they met eyes.

Feathertail's eyes widened in pure horror, but Silverswirl's did not. Their eyes met for a brief second. It was then that she understood the sacrifice. That for her daughters to live, she must die. Then, turning to the wave, she puffed out her chest and braced herself. Feathertail's mouth opened in a silent scream as it hit with full force. Rocks, twigs, plants, and other miscellaneous debris smashed into her. She was far enough away from the river so that she wasn't swept away with it, but close enough to be knocked off her paws.

A moment, barely a moment, followed where she stars swirling from that spot. She dismissed it.

Poppykit was screaming furiously in terror and pain. A sound that she never wanted to hear again. Not the physical kind of pain, but the emotional. She had just seen her mother die in front of her. Not unlike Iceleaf's death. Feathertail hung her head in agony; she had been unable to save her friend. She had failed.

Molenose crashed through the bare undergrowth towards the tabby she-cat. He saw them both standing there, waves of sadness spilling out of them, "Where's Silverswirl? Where is my sister?"

Feathertail glanced up. His voice may have sounded confused but by his facial expressions she knew that he already knew. His sister was gone. Silently he picked up Poppykit, now limp with exhaustion and grief, and stiffly padded back to camp. Feathertail stayed though.

She let the frigid water slowly pool up around her paws. She let the wind gather in her fur and fluff it up. She let herself grieve for the first time in a long time. All of her clanmates. All of those who had died. She let those feelings well up inside her until she no longer could be sad. Somehow she found herself heading back towards camp. Lilystream would give her poppy seeds for shock and she would sleep. Sleep like she did when her daughter died.

When she arrived back she was greeted by her mate. Her pressed his pelt against hers and led her to the medicine cat den. Just as she had predicted Lilystream gave her poppy seeds. Then, she was in the warriors' den. It was warm and comfortable and soon she was fast asleep by Rockclaw's side.

Her slumber was not peaceful however. Terrible visions of the water clouded her mind. That last mental picture of Silverswirl being swept away towards the Sea. Her body being tossed and broken in less than a second. Slowly sinking down to the black nothing that was the bottom of the Sea. No one would ever find her body. Nothing left to mourn. Nothing at all. Nothing. Nothing.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

_**Part III**_

"_There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls."_

_- Aeschylus_

Chapter Nineteen

Feathertail's sleep was wrought with terrifying visions. Random words began to repeat themselves in her mind. Always the same ones. With a jolt she knew what they were saying. All of them came together to form that terrible prophecy from so many moon ago. So many moons ago when all was right with the world.

"_Waters that swallow and nests become bare. Green that kills and the small destroy. SunClan will die….SunClan will die_."

When Feathertail woke up from her herb-induced slumber it was nearly sunhigh. Unlike her mood the day was bright and sunny. Birds flew in little flocks overhead while the forest was alive with sounds.

She stiffly got to her feet and made her way to the fresh-kill pile. It was piled high with everything ranging from a mouse to a rabbit. To be safe she chose a small mouse.

Though she knew she was hungry she only managed to take a single bite before looking away in disgust.

"I'll finish that for you if you're done." It was Rockclaw. He must've been right next to her the entire time, she just hadn't noticed. Feathertail nodded her head 'yes' and let him have the rest of the mouse.

"How are they. The kits I mean?" she asked.

Rockclaw swallowed the last of his mouse before replying, "Shaken up. Poppykit still refuses to talk after what she saw. The others are just as silent but they've been active all the same."

He paused, looking his mate over, "What exactly did you see. Only you and Poppykit know for sure. No one else was there."

Feathertail looked away. Seeing the forest looming overhead, leaves beginning to make their perennial cover yet again, she couldn't help but want to go out. She stood up, shook her pelt off, and then padded over to the camp's entrance. Rockclaw stayed where he sat. He knew that it must've been too soon.

As Feathertail stepped out she took in all the scents surrounding her. They should've been wonderful, but they couldn't be. All of those closest to her were dying.

Her mind wandered back to the words in the prophecy. _Waters that swallow_…it could've only meant Silverswirl. Who else had been consumed by the flood. _Green that kills…_Greencough surely was the 'green' in the prophecy. It killed so many…so many. But no matter how much she rolled the words in her head or out loud, she couldn't figure out what 'the small destroy' meant.

Maybe it was another bug. Thorns? Small animals, like voles or birds…no, that couldn't be it. Feathertail shook her head, it just didn't make sense.

She was so lost in her thought she didn't notice herself being carried to the cliff again. Long tendrils of vines draped over the rock, as if it was camouflaging itself from the world around it. Ferns and long grasses skirted the base, while the rest of the ground going out at least a tree-length around it was bare. Only dirt and a few odd bushes dotted it.

Instinctively she wound her way to the small patch of trees in between the forest's edge and cliff. There was always a lot of prey in there. As she snaked her way up a tree, towards a plump looking squirrel, she heard another approaching.

She crouched down on the branch she was on, shielding herself from view. Longwhisker came into sight. He glanced over his shoulders every few steps, to make sure no one was following him. In his hurry he didn't even notice Feathertail's scent.

She was furious. Sick and fed up with him sneaking around all the time. After he disappeared through the rock face she continued on after him. The tunnel was dark and wet, filled with moss and lichen. It became unbearably cramped in some spots, and every now and then it would widen out to passageways larger than three of her together. Light poked its way through small cracks in the ceiling every now and then before the tunnel would go deeper.

Most of the time she couldn't see a thing in the dark. Longwhisker's scent guided her way through though. Up ahead she heard the roaring of water. The sound reverberated in her eardrums, evil and terrifying.

She ignored it though and continued after the tom's scent. The wet, watery scent was washing any scent away.

Before she knew it though she had come upon a cavern. She didn't waltz right in, but instead listened to their conversation from just inside the tunnel.

"- found out about us, or noticed our disappearing for so long!" It was a she-cat. Probably Ambereyes. "Then again, I don't think many would notice me being gone, I'm hardly ever wanted." She continued.

"Yah right, you're the deputy!" It was Longwhisker this time, "I'm sure Goldenstar needs you; she's still stuck with the idea that she's still the deputy instead of the leader. It must be hard to adjust."

Golden_star? _Branchstar was dead?!

"I suppose," Ambereyes sighed, "I just wish that she would snap out of it. Anyways, I have something that I want to tell you."

"What would that be?" It was a different cat, not Ambereyes or Longwhisker.

"Goldenstar! I was, ah, I was…" Ambereyes stuttered.

"Yes, what _were_ you doing?"

Ambereyes cleared her throat. "I was just checking out a strange scent and it brought me here." Even Feathertail could tell that she was lying.

"I suggest that you leave before I claw your fur off. Never come back here again or I swear on StarClan that I will kill you on the spot." She heard Longwhisker shuffle around. This was Feathertail's cue to leave.

She turned on the spot and sprinted out of the tunnel. This time she barely noticed the dampness and dark surrounding her. Her only thought was to get out, and fast!

Before she knew it she was running up the same tree she had been in before. Moments after she had reached a hidden branch she saw Longwhisker come bounding out.

He was breathing hard and looked around hurriedly. Then, he ran back into the forest.

Feathertail took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't have to reveal Longwhisker anymore. Goldenstar would do that herself.

After she was sure that she looked normal she climbed back down the tree. It was easy enough to dispatch several mice to give the look that she had been hunting the entire time.

She then returned to camp and dropped the prey in the fresh-kill pile. She had barely walked in when she heard Hawkstar call a clan meeting. Most of the clan was already assembled so she was forced near the back along with Reedfur and a couple of apprentices.

Rockclaw and her daughter, Leopardpaw, joined her almost immediately. She knew that they were worried for her well-being, but she didn't need to be catered to like a kit.

Moments later, after the clan was gathered underneath the Highstump, he began, "I'm sure everyone knows by now, but if you haven't heard, we lost one of our clan early this morning. Silverswirl was trying to save her kits when the ice-barrier broke above the waterfall. She managed to save all four of her kits, but not without sacrificing herself."

Several cats, mostly elders and apprentices, began murmuring. They hadn't heard of the horrible news until now.

Hawkstar continued, "Although we know _how_ she died, we don't know exactly why she had to. Her kits were old enough to know that they were not supposed to go out, at night, alone, into the forest. Plus, they wouldn't have gone near the Great River either." The clan began to look suspiciously amongst themselves as their leader uttered these words. "I have met with some senior warriors, and discussed the matter with Lilystream. Someone, and it's not necessarily a SunClan cat, led those kits to the water with the purpose of killing them. And I plan on finding out who it was." It was barely perceptible, but she could see Reedfur tense during the speech.

She knew that she was always quick to judge. Yet, she couldn't deny what she had seen and scented earlier. Reedfur had the scent of water on his fur. He had been out of the camp when the kits disappeared. It had to have been him. But, Hawkstar needed better proof than this. He needed the kits to talk themselves. Unfortunately, at the time, they were too shaken up to talk.

At his last words he leapt down from the Highstump. Feathertail stared in shock at her brother. As he padded past her he whispered in her ear, "Meet me in my den, now." Feathertail nodded her head.

Only heartbeats later she was alone in the Leader's den with her brother. He looked into her eyes with affection yet they were cold. "Sister, I know you've been through a lot today, but you have to tell me what happened. All anyone knows is that Silverswirl died somehow."

Feathertail took a deep breath. She knew that she must tell someone, sometime. After going over the story in her mind she recited it. It took several minutes but afterwards, she felt better again. Hawkstar only shook his head in thought at the end. "There's no chance that we'll find her is there?"

"No. There is nothing left. The Great River has consumed her."

He nodded his head again, "You're going to have to come to the next Gathering. I know Silverswirl was well liked amongst the clans, and I'll need someone that I trust to back me up." Feathertail nodded her head. "You may go now."

Once she had left she walked straight to the fresh-kill pile. Redfoot was also there, picking up a mouse but eyeing a good-sized robin.

"If we split it, nothing will be wasted." Feathertail suggested. The tom smiled, dropped the mouse, and picked up with feathered prey.

After they reached a sheltered spot in the clearing he dropped the bird, "Thanks, I didn't know if I could stand another mouse. I think that's all I've lived off of this leaf-bare."

"I know what you mean." They both ate in silence for a few moments.

Then Feathertail asked, "How's Fernfeather doing. Is she getting any better?"

Redfoot paused for a moment and then swallowed a bit of meat, "Well…She's not doing any better or any worse. She still wakes up some nights, mumbling to herself about Greenkit and Nettlekit. I comfort her, but she doesn't seem to notice."

"I'm sure she'll be back to normal soon. It's just the shock of it all."

Redfoot nodded, "Yah, sure," after a couple of heartbeats he shook his head, "Who am I kidding? Fernfeather's gone off the deep end. She's completely lost any and all of her sanity. I could say that she's going to get better, but that would be a complete and utter lie."

"Redfoot!" Feathertail exclaimed.

"You can't argue with me because I'm right."

She fumbled for words for a moment, "But what about supporting her?"

"I do support her, but I can't keep telling everyone lies and giving away false hope."

He looked down at the rest of the bird in disgust, "You can have the rest of my half, I'm full." With that he stalked off to the medicine den, where his mate was more or less imprisoned for the remainder of her life.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

The next Gathering was a quarter moon after the flood. Hawkstar had gathered Blackear, Molenose, Thrushtail, Gorsepelt, Birchface, Rockclaw, Redfoot, Yellowbird, Longwhisker, and herself. Also coming were Owlpaw, Firepaw, and Petalpaw.

As soon as the sun set in the sea they left. It wasn't a long trek to FourRivers. After a short walk through their territory they individually crossed over on the log to the island. Feathertail wondered how it could've stayed there through the wave. Surely it must be jammed in the rocks quite snugly.

She could already scent that both OceanClan and BreezeClan had made their way over there. MarshClan would probably be there already too.

Getting to the center of the island was a little harder. Fallen trees and other debris had washed up over the past moon. But the other clans had since forged the path to the clearing.

Seeing as they were the last to arrive Hawkstar immediately jumped up onto a low hanging branch. The first thing Feathertail noticed was that Ambereyes was sitting upon a branch where Goldenstar should've been. It was even more of a surprise to the rest of her clanmates, who all though Branchstar was still alive.

Troutstar, the leader of OceanClan, began, "OceanClan has done well this past moon. The recent flooding has caused us to move our camp, but it has brought in more prey. Other than that, we have no more news."

The other three clan leaders nodded their heads. Robinstar reported that they had three new apprentices and that they had been able to move their camp back down to the land below the cliffs, but the islands were still inaccessible.

Next was Hawkstar, "Our clan has suffered a great loss only a quarter moon ago. When the ice-block melted, one of our queens, Silverswirl, was caught in the wave. She was swallowed by the waters. But with great loss comes hope. We have one new apprentice, Ivypaw."

Several cats began to murmur at the end of Hawkstar's speech. Most of them were wondering how Silverswirl could've been swept away if the camp was in the heart of the forest as they all seemed to know.

Ambereyes went last, "I know you've all been expecting Branchstar, but that won't happen. A little less than a moon ago, he lost his last life. Goldenpelt received her nine lives and became Goldenstar. But, she too lost all of her lives when a boulder fell on her. I've now become leader of BreezeClan and have received my nine lives as well." She paused to take a breath, "We have two new apprentices; Dovepaw and Thornpaw. And finally, if you see Olivetuft, chase him from your lands. His is banished from the clans and should be treated as an invading cat."

At the last of her words she leapt down off of her branch and led her clan out of the clearing. Cats from the other three clans burst into shouts. Feathertail just stared in awe at Amberstar.

Then, remembering her clanmate, she turned to catch a glimpse of Longwhisker. He was paralyzed. Surprise was frozen on his face as he stared at his former love. There was nothing he could do now. His affair was officially over.

Hawkstar then gathered the SunClan warriors and left. They walked slower on the way back; there was no hurry to get anywhere. As she crossed the log she glanced quickly up at the moon. Dark clouds gathered at the tip of the moon. Slowly, its silvery-blue light was blocked out.

The next few days passed without incident. Patrols came and went, and the rest of the snow melted leaving slushy mud and lush green plants.

Lilystream and Thrushtail were busy all day, every day, gathering the vast amounts of herbs they needed. Unfortunately, the leaf-bare had destroyed nearly all of their storage of medicinal plants.

About a half-moon after the Gathering, Feathertail was told to go on a patrol.

Along with her was her apprentice, Brownpaw, Birchface and Ivypaw, Reedfur, and Aspentail. Molenose led the patrol.

It should've been a simple route from the still-overflowing stream to their forest border to the north. Yet, Feathertail's gut told her that something crazy was bound to happen. Weird things happened frequently around her.

They had just reached the center of the forest border side when several strange scents washed over her. They were undoubtedly cats, but definitely not from any clans. Aspentail tensed and ran quicker. Molenose paused for a moment before quickening his pace too.

As they rounded a small bend three cats came into sight. One was a small orange tabby tom, another was a calico she-cat, and the last was a grey tabby tom. At the sight of the clan cats they all turned to face them, as if they were their equals.

"Invaders!" called Molenose, "What do you want?"

"Wait!" It was Aspentail, "This is Pêches, Fleur, and Simone."

"Pêches? Fleur? As in the cats from the catmint patrol?" Feathertail asked. She had only heard about them from Rockclaw and a few others. They had given them shelter while they were gone.

"Yes." Aspentail replied.

"Well, what are they doing here?" asked Birchface.

Molenose turned his head and waited for a response.

Pêches looked at Aspentail then back at them, "He hasn't told you?" pointing his tail at Aspentail.

"Told us what exactly?" Reedfur inquired.

"I had hoped it wouldn't have happened like this." Aspentail said.

The patrols' faces became puzzled, "What happened like what?" Feathertail asked.

Aspentail only shook his head, "I'll tell you when we get back to camp. They're coming with us too." Indicating the twoleg-place cats.

Molenose nodded his head and began leading the patrol back to camp. It was silent; no one talked or said a word. As soon as they arrived back at camp, Aspentail went straight into Hawkstar's den.

Moments later a shocked looking Hawkstar jumped up on top of the Highstump. "All cats old enough to catch prey will gather here beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting!"

Confused cats poured out of their dens. They all stared at the twoleg-place cats with wonder and suspicion.

"What's this all about Hawkstar?" asked Deerswift. She had seen her mate standing among the strange cats and looked worried.

Hawkstar shifted his eyes. He looked uneasy. "Aspentail has informed me of…well…"

"What?!" Deerswift shouted, she was agitated now.

"He wishes to leave the clan to live with the kittypets and loners of the twoleg-place."

Surprise, shock, amazement; these were all the feelings that overwhelmed the clearing. Deerswift's face went blank and she stiffly turned to her mate.

"Why?" her voice was so quiet it was if she wasn't even talking.

"I'm tired of fighting all the time. With other clans, with ourselves, with _death_. Do you know how easy these guys have it," pointing his tail at the three cats around him; "They've barely had to work a day in their lives. They have a better chance in this forsaken world."

"But-"began his mate.

"No. No 'buts'. Look at all the lives the Greencough took. And now Silverswirl. She didn't need to die. She was so young…"

"Please don't leave Aspentail. Where will you go?"

He took a breath, looking at the ground, "I found good housefolk. I know they'll take me in." he padded up to Deerswift. Turning her head to look at his with his tail he continued, "I can bring the kits. They'll have a better life. They will live, rather than have a higher chance of dying out here."

Her face grew hard. She stood up, "No. I won't let you take _my_ kits anywhere. Go. Go if you want! Good riddance!" and turned her back to him.

"If that's what you really want." Aspentail turned to Hawkstar, "If I may, I'll be leaving now."

Hawkstar nodded his head, "Aspentail. I don't want to do this, but according to the code, I must." He raised his head and surveyed his clan, "From now on, Aspentail is no longer a warrior of SunClan. He will be treated as an invading cat and chased from our territory if he enters it without our permission. Go now," more quietly he added, "and may the stars watch over your path." Hawkstar had always liked the lanky tom.

"And yours too. Thank you for how kind you've been to me, but this life isn't for me." Turning to look at his former clan he added, "Goodbye." His eyes lingered on Deerswift and he only hung his head for a moment.

Hawkstar said a few words to Blackear. The deputy and two other cats surrounded the now-four loner cats to escort them back out of the territory. From inside the nursery Feathertail could hear Ripplekit and Bluekit asking where their father was going.

Cinderfur, who was watching over them, just hushed them and told them to look away. The rest of the clan was doing just that. Glancing off at a curious twig or studying the dirt. Aspentail though just held his head high and left through the tunnel with pride.

That was the last time Feathertail, or anyone, ever saw him.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Deerswift had become an emotional wreck. She had somehow come to the idea that she was the reason that Aspentail left. No matter what any of the queens, warriors, or she had done, it couldn't cheer her up.

But other than that, the next moon had gone smoothly. No one died, no one got hurt. Everything was as it should've been. Cinderfur had even had her kits! Two little toms, Nightkit and Coalkit. Nightkit was as black as his name with bright yellow eyes. Coalkit was like a grey smudge, but his orange eyes seemed to transform him into the color of a dying fire.

And yet, Feathertail couldn't but help have the feeling that something bad was bound to happen.

She would've dwelled longer on the subjects, but she had to train Brownpaw. He still couldn't get the crouch for catching birds in trees just right. No matter what he ended up shaking the limb and scaring away the prey.

"Feathertail, c'mon!" he called from the entrance. She rolled her eyes; he was always in a hurry.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

As she hurried to catch up to her apprentice she ran into Yellowbird.

"How are you?" Feathertail asked.

"Oh, good, good. I was just about to head out and give Owlpaw, Petalpaw, and Badgerpaw their final assessment. Do you want to join me? Hawkstar' s busy and Patchpelt has a stomach-ache. I could use some help."

"Hm, let me see if Brownpaw can wait a bit longer. I've never seen those three hunt before believe it or not."

After explaining the situation to a disappointed looking Brownpaw, she returned to Yellowbird. They gathered the three apprentices, and left.

In SunClan, in order to pass the assessment, you had to complete a certain task that your mentor or a warrior laid out for you. Usually it was hunting since going over all the fighting techniques would take forever. After deliberating, and going over which prey the apprentices had trouble catching, they came to a conclusion.

For Petalpaw, they had her catch four birds.

For Badgerpaw, they told him to go upstream, away from any flooding, and catch two big fish.

And for Owlpaw, they would have him catch a rabbit and two birds.

The tests would take up most of the day so as soon as they entered the forest, they let them go. Yellowbird followed Owlpaw first, and Feathertail followed Badgerpaw.

Badgerpaw's task was the easiest, and he was soon done. After he finished Feathertail told him to go back to camp and wait for them there. There was no doubt that he would become a warrior. She then left to follow Petalpaw.

According to Yellowbird, Petalpaw had never been the best at hunting birds, so she should still be looking for at least her third bird.

Finding her was easy. Her scent lay in a zigzag pattern on the forest floor. Two mounds indicated two of her prey. Another one, with her scent thicker than before, told her that she was close to her. Owlpaw's scent was also laced in the air.

Both of them must've been hunting around here. A flap of wings told her that the bird, a large dove, must've gotten away. She watched it fly up above the tree tops.

Petalpaw's voice shouted at her brother. She was still a bit far away, but she could tell that she was blaming him for something.

Then, a scream.

Frightened yowls and the yips of an animal told Feathertail that something bad had happened.

She ran to her very extent until she happened upon the grisly scene.

Petalpaw was half-sitting, half-laying next to a large rock. Blood cascaded down her face and dripped like rain on the grass.

Owlpaw was further away next to a tree, still and unmoving. A pool of blood was already forming beneath him. And weaving in and out of the trees were Yellowbird and a huge fox.

By the looks of it, it was an older male. Filled with pride and much more cunning than most foxes. Well, not a lot of pride anymore. Yellowbird had covered him with cuts. His ear was shredded to bits, his legs were almost torn to shreds, and numerous scratches criss-crossed his body.

Yellowbird wasn't much better. A nasty bite wound covered her whole upper half. Both of her ears were almost gone and she would surely lose one of her eyes. Yet she still fought with the ferocity of fifty seasoned warriors.

Feathertail jumped in and distracted the fox. She flew to his head and raked her claws down his face. The fox yelped and snapped at her, but missed. She circled the fox slowly, waiting for him to lose his concentration.

Yellowbird ran up from behind, slid under him, and shredded his exposed soft belly into bits. It was too much for the beast.

He yipped and ran away, splattering huge drops of blood onto Feathertail. She didn't have any wounds.

The others weren't as lucky. As soon as the fox was gone Yellowbird collapsed. Feathertail ran up to help her friend.

"Feathertail…" she whispered.

"I'm here my friend, I am here." Feathertail soothed her.

The yellow she-cat's voice was bubbling as she spoke, a very bad sign, "You must….you must help the others…they…are more hurt…than me."

"Yellowbird…you'll be fine, I promise." She forced a semblance of smile on her face.

Yellowbird only grinned, a look even more defined by the red liquid dripping out of her nose and mouth, "Don't lie to me Feathertail…I can feel it…the wonderful warmth…let me go…I want to go."

Feathertail's voice was wavering with sadness, "Please…Please don't."

Her voice slowly quieted, "May StarClan light your path…"

"And you yours." Feathertail whispered. It was too late. Her friend and fellow warrior, was dead.

Through the barrier of grief she knew she must help the other two cats. By this point Petalpaw too had collapsed. Her face was torn and shredded. Skin hung in flaps, attached by only a tendril. Her right eye was hanging loosely in its socket, unattached from her body. Both ears were bloody stumps, sticky and wet.

Owlpaw was most definitely dead. His body crushed by the force of the fox flinging him against a tree. His entire leg was almost torn off from where the fox grabbed him and threw him. His skull was oddly shaped, deformed. She could barely define where his facial features were. He was in StarClan's paws now.

From further in the forest she could hear a patrol on its way. They must've heard the commotion all the way from camp.

Only moments later Hawkstar, Blackear, Longwhisker, and Birchface showed up. When they saw the carnage they were appalled.

She told them that Owlpaw had died instantly, a fact she didn't entirely know, and that Yellowbird had died at her paws.

Hawkstar was completely out of it, "No!" he screamed, "He's not dead! My son is not dead!" They averted their eyes, no cat wanted to see their leader in shambles.

"Hawkstar, please! We must get Petalpaw to Lilystream, she's still alive." Through his wailings he consented. At least he still had his daughter. Blackear and Birchface took the injured apprentice. Feathertail and Longwhisker took Yellowbird's body, and Hawkstar insisted that he take his son's.

Blackear and Birchface hurried back to camp, but the other three took their time. Their sadness hung over them like a looming thunderhead, ready to let loose.

As soon as they entered camp a wailing arose from the nursery. Rosebloom bounded out to see if what she had heard was true. Badgerpaw, waiting for his sibling's good news, was in shock.

Rosebloom came up to her mate and her dead son, "Is it true? StarClan, don't let it be true!"

"It is. Our son is dead and our daughter is….she is…"Hawkstar struggled to find his words.

Thrushtail rushed out and ushered them into the medicine cat den. Even if they hadn't a need for herbs, he would still have to clean up the body. Feathertail and Longwhisker set Yellowbird carefully in the den too. They didn't want the entire clan seeing them so broken.

As soon as they stepped out of the den they ran into Squirrelpaw and Firepaw. Yellowbird's kits.

"Please Feathertail, tell me she's okay." Pleaded Squirrelpaw.

Feathertail struggled for a breath, "I…I can't. She died next to my paws. I was with her." Squirrelpaw let out a low moan. Firepaw said nothing but closed his eyes and turned his head to the ground.

At her persistence, the apprentices returned to their den. Badgerpaw soon accompanied them.

By the time night fell the clan knew. Yellowbird and Owlpaw had been killed, Petalpaw, injured. Lilystream and Thrushtail weren't sure if the young she-cat was going to live at all anyways. Her right eye and ear were gone. Long scars were going to cross her whole body and face. She was never going to be the same.

And, to top it off, there was more bad news. After Hawkstar had regained his composure he had sent a patrol to search the forest and make sure the fox was gone. They had found it dead in its den, but had scented something odd. It was the same scent as Pêches had smelled like.

But it wasn't him, and there were a large number of them. Rockclaw, who had been with them, confirmed the scent.

Rogues. To be more specific, the rogues that had taken over the twoleg-place. The rogues that had killed Jacques.

When the sun finally rose Feathertail found herself asleep in her nest. She didn't even know how she got there.

She stretched and headed for the fresh-kill pile. After eating a small mouse she looked around. Her eyes fell on Birchface, stretched out in the sun, and joined her.

"What happened last night?" Feathertail asked.

Birchface opened one eyelid, sat up and yawned, and then started, "Well. Lilystream had a couple of the elders bury Yellowbird and Owlpaw. She almost had to force Hawkstar to let her do it."

"Why, shouldn't there have been a vigil?"

"If you hadn't seen what they looked like, if you were just a kit, would you have wanted to see them in the state they were in?" Feathertail nodded her head; it would've been pretty bad indeed.

Birchface continued, "A vigil was held for them at Hawkstar's insistence though. I'm not sure it was entirely complete seeing as how it was half-way through the night and there were no bodies."

"I'm sure StarClan will accept them."

Birchface sighed, "Yah, you're probably right."

"Also, I know you were sleeping, but Rockclaw didn't want to wake you. Hawkstar made Badgerpaw into a warrior. He's called Badgerstorm now. Petalpaw, although she's injured was given a new mentor. Blackear's 'mentoring' her. He probably won't have to do much considering that if she recovers she'll be made a warrior right away anyway."

"Huh, I missed a lot I guess." Feathertail concluded.

"You were asleep for a long time; do you even know what time it is?"

Feathertail shook her head then looked up into the sky. The sun was already half-way through its descent in the sky! She had slept nearly an entire day away!

"Dear StarClan! I didn't realize the time!"

"Rockclaw's so protective of you, ya' know? I wish I had someone like that." Birchface admitted.

"I'm sure you will. You're young, you're pretty. It's only a matter of time. I should go now. Brownpaw needs to work on some techniques still."

With that Feathertail left to find her apprentice. She knew that one of his friends had died, but she felt that he had to know as much as he could. She didn't want him to be unprepared for anything.

She found him in the apprentice den along with Firepaw and Squirrelpaw. "Brownpaw, do you want to learn that bird-hunting trick?"

He looked up, surprised to see her acting as if nothing had happened, 'Uh…sure." He got up and began walking out, but looked over his shoulder one last time, "I'll see you later guys."

Feathertail lavished the sunlight in the forest, it felt good, warm, safe. Brownpaw was slightly uneasy around his mentor. In all their time spent together she had never been this carefree.

Once they reached a particularly large tree she said, "Alright, now all I need you to do first is to climb up to that third branch, okay?"

Brownpaw nodded his head, judging the distance all the while. Then, he leapt, paws forward, claws extended. Within moments he was on the appointed branch. Feathertail soon joined him there.

"Good job!" she pointed to a clump of leaves at the tip of the branch, "Birds like to camouflage themselves sometimes in the leaves like those ones. But we're smarter than they are. What I need you to do next is the slowly, quietly, and without moving the branch, reach out to those."

He nodded his head, she had already taught him this ages ago! But, before he could reach there, she stopped him.

"Now jump over to the other tree's branch!" He stared back at her in shock. The other branch was at least a cat-length away. Plus, they must've been four fox-lengths in the air! Feathertail had never taught Brownpaw how to jump from tree to tree.

He called back to her, "I've never done this before! What if I fall?!"

She frowned, "Don't you trust me? You're at just the right length to leap over and reach there. What if there's a big fat juicy bird just waiting to be caught and there's no other way to catch it?"

Brownpaw swallowed past the lump gathering in his throat. Taking several deep breaths he counted, "One…Two…THREE!" and leapt. Feathertail held her breath as her apprentice flew over the ground. If he fell, she would be responsible. Claws met wood. He made it.

Feathertail smiled, she knew that he would make it. He just needed to take a leap of faith. After he slid back down the tree trunk they went to the edge of their territory, near the grass fields. Before they got there though, an odd scent took control of the air.

It was a combination of twoleg-monster-smoke and rotten food. She signaled with her tail for her apprentice to stop. Carefully, quietly, she crawled through several bushes. Peering through a break in the leaves she saw four different cats.

Their fur was matted and dirty, claws long, and a wild look flamed in their eyes. Rogues. Not of any clan. One of them looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't place it. For a split second she thought about confronting them, but then she thought. What if they had backup in the fields? Plus, it would be two to four. Hardly good odds.

Gently, she turned around stepped her way back to her apprentice. After telling him of the situation, they nearly flew back to camp.

By the time they got there, organized a patrol, and returned back to the spot, the rogues were gone.

She described the familiar tom to Hawkstar, who immediately identified him as Olivetuft, the banished BreezeClan cat.

Somehow, Feathertail knew that those cats were going to cause trouble.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

The days passed quickly after her outing with Brownpaw. Feathertail made sure that she got more and more training sessions in with her apprentice. The recent events had caused her to realize that she wanted him prepared for absolutely anything.

Brownpaw, however, wasn't all too happy about his new-found attention. To him, it just meant that she was getting him up earlier and keeping him out later doing various tasks. But Feathertail knew that it was making him better.

But other than that there was sad news and good news.

The sad news was that the elder, Sharpfur, had died. He was by far one of the oldest cats among the clans and in the end he succumbed to old age. Brightstripe, her mother, who had been his mate, was devastated. And although Sharpfur was her father, she really never got to know him. She and her brother, Hawkstar, had been their last litter. Shortly after their birth Sharpfur had retired. And after they had left the nursery, Brightstripe had retired.

The good news was that Ripplekit and Bluekit had been made apprentices. Ripplepaw was apprenticed to Molenose and Bluepaw was apprenticed to Badgerstorm.

And even now, this very day, Squirrelpaw and Firepaw were about to be made warriors. They had just finished their assessments that morning and both of them had returned enthusiastic. But before that could happen, Feathertail had something very important to do.

Striding up to the leader's den, she announced herself.

From somewhere inside the hollow stump came Hawkstar's call, "Enter"

She slowly padded her way in, allowing time for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting. When she spotted her brother in the back of the den she greeted him. He was talking to Blackear about something.

"-increase patrols in that area. I don't want any intruders."

"Do you think it could be them?" Blackear asked, "The ones that…well, you know."

A trace of grief hung in Hawkstar's face, "I fear that they are. What other rogues are there with so many numbers?" Blackear nodded his head in agreement.

So they were talking about the rogue cats Feathertail had spotted. Hopefully increased patrols would be enough to scare off those deranged cats.

A few moments later Hawkstar dismissed his deputy and faced his sister. Feathertail began.

"I've heard that it's likely that Squirrelpaw and Firepaw are going to receive their warrior names sometime today."

He rolled his eyes, "Word gets around fast doesn't it? Yes, it's true."

"That's good, they deserve to be warriors."

Hawkstar looked into his sister's eyes for a few moments, "That's not why you're here is it?"

She smiled, "No."

"I thought so, what do you _really_ want?"

Feathertail took a deep breath before beginning, "Yellowbird was their mother as you already know. They were very close to her, being her only kits. I only thought it was fitting if at least one of them received some part of her name as a tribute. Maybe Squirrelbird…or Firebird?"

"That's quite a burden to bear. Yellowbird was an amazing fighter and hunter. They'd have to live up to that name or bear the guilt of failing that name."

"I believe they could do it. They're both fierce fighters and cunning too."

Hawkstar frowned for a moment, "I suppose I might. I'll think about it that is."

Feathertail smiled, "Thank you Hawkstar, thank you so much."

"Well, since everyone already knows about it, I might as well make it happen already." He ushered his sister out, then jumped to the top of the Highstump. Hawkstar surveyed his camp for a moment, then called out, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting!"

Cats poured out of their dens nearly instantly. Squirrelpaw and Firepaw were almost jumping at the thought of becoming warriors. Only their mentors, Rockclaw and Gorsepelt, kept them from doing just that.

Once all the cats were present, Hawkstar began the ancient ceremony.

"Well, I think you all know what's coming," he said smiling. He jumped down from the Highstump and padded up to Firepaw. Continuing he said, "I, Hawkstar, leader of SunClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of you noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

Hawkstar looked down from the sky and stared hard into the apprentice's eyes, "Firepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend you Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Firepaw steadied his breath before replying, "I do."

The leader smiled warmly, as he always did when he made a new warrior, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Firepaw, from this moment you will be known as Fireclaw. StarClan honors your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan."

Hawkstar then rested his muzzle on the top of Fireclaw's head while the new warrior licked his leader's shoulder.

The rest of the clan chanted his new name loudly, "Fireclaw, Fireclaw!"

After a moment Hawkstar moved onto Squirrelpaw. He went through the first phrases smoothly. Then came the naming part, "…by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Squirrelpaw, from this moment on, you'll be known as Squirrelbird. StarClan honors your skill and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan."

They did the same motions as before. Then, the clan called out her new name, "Squirrelbird, Squirrelbird!"

When Feathertail padded past the new warriors she added, "Your mother would've been very proud of you two. I know she would." She could see Squirrelbird's smile get even bigger and Fireclaw dipped his head in thanks.

By this point it was sunhigh and Feathertail spent the hottest part of the day lounging in the shadows skirting the camp. Rockclaw soon joined her, and after him, Leopardpaw. Seeing her daughter reminded her that she should try some new, complicated fighting techniques with Brownpaw.

Rising to her paws she searched the camp. Squirrelbird told her that she hadn't seen him since that morning. Puzzled, she went to his brother, Oakpaw. He too told her that he hadn't seen him since he left to go hunting that morning. After thanking him she headed out into the forest.

The day was warm with a mild wind coming from the south. Wet, spring earth silenced her steps through the green trees. A small shower of rain the night before had wetted the ground even further. Somewhere, a woodpecker tapped incessantly at a tree. High above, in the thin, wispy clouds, an eagle circled slowly. Yet though everything seemed peaceful, something seemed off. It was too quiet. She should've seen some sort of life by now.

Then, the wind changed directions slightly. Just ever so gently it came from the north, and a new scent filled the air. Intruders!

As fast as she could she fled back to camp. She could hear them now, quiet yet, but making the mistake of stepping on a rare dry twig, or splashing into a puddle. Before long she was back in sight of the camp. Mustering up every part of her she could she screeched, "Invaders! To the north! Intruders!"

Most of the cats, still groggy from a warm afternoon nap, looked around confused. Hawkstar ran out of his den along with Blackear. Seeing Feathertail crash through the thorny barrier gave him enough reason to believe her.

"Where are they?" he asked quickly.

"To the north, in the forest. You'll hear them." She spat out in between gasps.

"Warriors of SunClan! Follow me!" Blackear, Rockclaw, Squirrelbird, Redfoot and Leopardpaw, Badgerstorm, Grassclaw and Oakpaw, Molenose, Deerswift, and she followed their leader into battle. The remaining warriors stayed in the camp in case they were just a decoy. No matter what, you never left the camp unprotected.

They ran swiftly, weaving through the trees, until they came upon the invading cats. Just as Feathertail had suspected, it was the twoleg place cats.

She knew most of them by name now after gleaning tidbits of information from Jacques, Rockclaw, and the occasional visiting Fleur and her kits.

Offenseur wasn't with them, but he had sent his second in command, Talon, in his stead. Ruisseau, Emeraude, Croc, Cane, and Zanna were the few she did know. There were about four others that she didn't know the name of.

Hawkstar wasted no time, "You are intruding on SunClan's territory. I'll ask you once, and only once, to leave."

Talon smirked, "This land belongs to Offenseur. If you do not give it up now, you will suffer the consequences."

"And what would those be?" Hawkstar asked.

Talon gave an odd laugh and shouted to a light brown tom, "Schneer!" The tom turned to face the SunClan cats. Feathertail could barely contain her gasp. The cat's face was literally shredded on the entire left side. His left front paw was missing. In its place was a cherry-red stump. He was also riddled with long ropy scars.

"He tried to disobey. Those who disobey suffer." Zanna said. Though her tone was mocking she could tell in the she-cat's eyes that she wanted to be free. But signing yourself to Off was binding. Once you joined, the only way to leave was to die.

"Leave now!" Hawkstar hissed through his teeth.

Talon walked right up to him, looked him in the eye, and spat back, "Never"

It was just the right distraction.

Feathertail leapt at Talon, tearing his ear. They tumbled head over heels into Ruisseau. She hissed and leapt at Feathertail, but Rockclaw blocked her way. The rest of the SunClan patrol flung themselves at the sneering rogue cats with a fury.

Soon, the woods echoed with the shrieks of cat fighting. Croc and Cane were fighting Redfoot and Blackear. Hawkstar and Rockclaw had taken over Feathertail's fight with Talon just after she pounced on him. Ruisseau was fighting Deerswift and Zanna was fighting Badgerstorm and Oakpaw.

The maimed cat, Schneer, had disappeared. Emeraude, the small orange tabby also had disappeared. Feathertail also noted that the remaining three no-name rogues were nowhere to be seen. Squirrelbird, Molenose, and Leopardpaw had most likely chased the missing rogues into the woods because they too were gone.

Then, she was blindsided, it was one of the no-name rogues. He was a big black tom. Almost a head taller than her. She raked her claws down one of his legs and managed to right herself again.

From further back in the woods she could see the other no-namers. Both were muscular she-cats, but they were smaller than her. Chasing after them was her daughter, Leopardpaw.

Feathertail then shifted her focus back to the huge tom looming ahead of her. His tail was lashing back and forth and his large fangs were bared in a fierce hiss. She countered this and leapt agilely onto his back, sinking her claws into his skin.

He yowled in pain and rolled over to crush her, but she was quicker. Feathertail leapt off of him and clawed at his belly while he continued his roll. He screeched and ran off to the north, towards the twoleg place, with his tail tucked between his legs. Feathertail almost laughed at how easy it was to scare off the huge cat, as if he was a newborn kit.

Glancing around she joined Redfoot and Blackear and together they fought off Croc and Cane. Croc was cowardly and soon gave up, but Cane had put up a harder fight, leaving all of them with nasty scratches.

When she finally turned around again, only several of the rogues remained. Zanna and two other cats. Talon had gone, leaving his group behind. She picked up that the smallest of the two mystery rogues was named Gemma and countered herself against the she-cat. She sent that small cat scurrying off in no time. Now there were no more rogues left, except one.

One of the no-name cats now lay on the forest floor, bled out in a sticky pool of blood. Deerswift soon joined Feathertail and told her that the silver she-cat's name was Pesce. Before long the patrol had regrouped. Redfoot's paw was twisted, and he was missing a few whiskers, but he was fine. Other than that none of them had anything worse that a couple of deep scratches.

Grassclaw and Oakpaw also reported that they had found Brownpaw while chasing the remaining rogues out. He was lying unconscious beneath the tree that she had taught him to jump from. His paw was twisted at an odd angle. They quickly rushed back to camp to assess the rest of his condition along with everyone else's.

He must've tried to do the jump, but in the wet conditions, he had missed. He reminded Feathertail of a baby bird, trying to fly from its nest for the first time. Just stretching its downy wings over empty space.. Those tiny birds were always successful with one thing.

Dying.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lilystream and Thrushtail descended upon the patrol like hawks to rabbits. Within only several minutes of their return they were dressed in cobwebs and ointments with the exception of Brownpaw.

"What am I going to do with him?" Lilystream complained when they got him into her den, "What was he doing up in that tree anyway?!"

Feathertail averted her eyes, "Probably my fault. I was trying to teach him how to hunt in the trees. It's a new technique."

"Didn't you tell him not to try it on his own?"

"Well, I thought it was more implied. Everyone considers it dangerous so I naturally though he would too."

Lilystream scowled, "Well apprentices don't always have the great intuition they should!"

Her face grew hot and she was about to reply back when Petalpaw interrupted from the shadows of the den, "Will you please stop fighting, it's hurting my ears!"

Both she-cats were shocked into silence for a moment before Lilystream ran over to the mauled apprentice, "Petalpaw! You're awake!"

"Well I have been for a while now." She replied.

"You never made sense before. You're speaking in full sentences now!" Lilystream exclaimed, still entirely enthralled in her progression.

"Lilystream, Brownpaw still needs help." Feathertail reminded the medicine cat.

"Oh!" she said and ran back to the apprentice who was slowly regaining his consciousness.

Feathertail however, backed up into the shadowy parts of the den where Petalpaw had taken up residence.

"How are you doing?" she asked. She also looked into Petalpaw's face for the first time. She had never really seen it since Lilystream patched it up. Feathertail barely held in her gasp. It was red and swollen. Cobwebs soaked in red blotted her face. Where her ears used to be there were fleshy stumps. Her right eye was gone and in its place was a lonely black socket. Half of her fur was missing, especially on her right leg, which looked like it hardly functioned correctly.

"I've been better." Petalpaw replied.

"You know Hawkstar's going to want to know what happened that day. Nobody really knows the full story."

She sighed, "I know," she looked around the den, "So did Yellowbird and Owlpaw get away without even a scratch?"

"What do you mean?" Feathertail asked, confused by her question.

"Well they're not in here so obviously they weren't hurt that much." She didn't know yet. She didn't know that Yellowbird and her brother had died.

"Petalpaw…they didn't make it. The fox killed them both."

The den was quiet. Petalpaw just stared at Feathertail with a mixture of disbelief and dread.

"They're…they're dead?" she whispered quietly, "So I really am the only one that knows what happened?

Feathertail nodded her head, "Yes"

Lilystream returned to the two in the dark corner, "Brownpaw should be fine. He just can't run or put much pressure on it for awhile. It's just a twisted paw."

"So, what can he do?" she asked.

"He's only to be on light apprentice duties. Bringing food to elders and queens, cleaning, and maybe helping me with some herbs."

Feathertail shook her head, "How long is that going to be?"

Lilystream sighed, "Only about a moon or two. You don't want it to heal weird."

"StarClan, he's going to be behind!" she exclaimed.

Lilystream was about to interject when Rosebloom walked in. It only took a moment for her eyes to lock on her daughter before she ran to her.

"You're awake!" she nearly shouted.

"Shh!" Lilystream quieted them.

"I know," began Petalpaw, "and I heard about Owlpaw and Yellowbird. I think I should talk to father. Everybody needs to know what happened."

Feathertail was astonished and proud of how well the injured apprentice was holding herself together.

Rosebloom nodded her head and rested her tail on her daughter's back to lead her to Hawkstar's den. As they walked through the entrance Rosebloom looked over her shoulder, "Feathertail, you come too. You were the first one there."

Feathertail rose to her paws and joined them. Needless to say there were a lot of whispers and stares over the short walk to the middle of the clearing. But Petalpaw didn't even seem to notice them. She walked with her head held high trying her hardest not to limp too much.

Hawkstar noticed them heading for his den and joined them. He had been sharing a squirrel with Blackear but it was as if he had forgotten where he was. A look of happiness spread across his face as his daughter proudly made her way to his den.

As soon as they arrived in the cool of the tree-stump/leader's den Hawkstar's happiness seemed to flood it. He rubbed his cheek against his daughter's and purred affectionately.

"My daughter, you are alright…" he whispered warmly.

"Of course I am. But," she said pulling away, "we have serious matters to discuss."

Hawkstar's face grew grim, "Yes. I know you just woke up but everyone's been curious. What happened the day Yellowbird and your brother died?"

There was a pause. Petalpaw uttered a quick prayer to StarClan and began.

"Badgerpaw-"

"Badgerstorm." Interjected Rosebloom

"Oh…Badgerstorm, Owlpaw, and I were all on our final assessment. Badgerstorm went off by himself to another part of the forest. I don't know where. I knew Owlpaw was nearby, but I wasn't sure how close. He was downwind of me.

Then I saw a large crow sitting on a tree root. All I can remember was that it was so huge. I knew that if I got it, I was sure to be a warrior by sundown. I was just about to pounce when Owlpaw came from the bush opposite me. And of course, the crow got away.

I began to yell at him, telling him that it was his fault and now I would never be a warrior. A bit overdramatic I suppose. Anyhow, I had turned my back when I scented something odd. A turned around to ask Owlpaw but then it attacked. This huge fox just came from nowhere.

It grabbed him from his head before he could do as much as yowl and flung him across a clearing against the trees. He got up once but it attacked again. It ripped and tore at him, tearing him apart. I screamed and flung myself at the monster.

The next thing I knew he had my head in his jaws. He was shaking his head furiously, trying to break my neck I think. Then Yellowbird leapt from the forest. I don't remember much after that, it was all very fuzzy. The next thing I remember after that was waking up every now and then in Lilystream's den."

"A simple wind error…" Feathertail whispered.

"A simple error that killed two and mauled a third." Rosebloom spoke, "Hawkstar, we simply cannot let this happen again."

The leader nodded his head in agreement, "I'll add onto the training we have so far. At least two full wind lessons before their warrior ceremony will be required."

"Ah-hem" Petalpaw said, "Could I please get some sleep again. I'm still quite tired."

"Of course," said Hawkstar, "I guess Lilystream's herbs are kicking in again."

"Sleep my daughter…" Rosebloom said as she ushered her daughter back to the medicine cat den.

Thrushtail tagged along with them and they disappeared into the cool of the den.

Feathertail was just about to leave when Hawkstar called her back.

"Yes, what is it?"

"How old is Leopardpaw now?" he asked curiously.

"Hmm, about ten moons now I think. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, could you go fetch Redfoot for me?"

Feathertail looked at him quizzically, "Of course."

"Oh, wait." Feathertail turned back to him again, "Sorry, bring Grassclaw too."

"Alright, just a moment then." She turned tail and quickly padded out of the den before he could remember anything else.

She found both of the warriors recuperating in the shade of the warriors' den.

"Grassclaw!" she said, poking at the grey warrior, "Wake up, Hawkstar wants to speak with you." She swiveled her head towards Redfoot behind her, "and you too. I think it has something to do with your apprentices."

Grassclaw rose to his feet, stretched, and joined Redfoot.

"Does he want to talk with you too?" Redfoot asked.

"No, just you two. Besides, if anything's happening, I'm sure Brownpaw won't have anything to do with it." She glowered at the last sentence, still upset over her apprentice's stupidity.

She delivered the two the Hawkstar's den and left to get something to eat. She was starving. Not a minute after she had picked up a robin did Hawkstar call a meeting. She sighed and set down the bird, then padded over to Rockclaw.

"Let me guess," Rockclaw said, "apprentices becoming warriors?"

Feathertail nodded her head, "Most likely."

"And Brownpaw…?" he asked cautiously.

Feathertail just frowned and shook her head back and forth. Her mate gently laid his tail around hers to comfort her.

"I'm sure it won't be long. You just have to be patient." He said.

Feathertail was about to reply when Hawkstar began, "Members of SunClan. This is always one of my favorite parts of being a leader. Leopardpaw and Oakpaw please step forward."

Despite her resentment towards her own apprentice, Feathertail couldn't help but fell immensely proud that her daughter was finally becoming a warrior. Hawkstar performed the ceremonies flawlessly, complimenting her daughter's unique hunting skills and intelligence.

In the end, Leopardpaw became Leopardspots, and Oakpaw, her adopted son, became Oakstripe. And as she fell asleep that night, Rockclaw warm against her back, and two new warriors in the den, she felt thankful to StarClan that she was there. If she hadn't been able to see Leopardspots's warrior ceremony, she would've been distraught. Feathertail felt genuinely sorry for Silverswirl.

And now, SunClan's fate was beginning to look up.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Feathertail woke up she realized that Blackear hadn't called her for any patrols that day. So, she went straight to the medicine den to see if Lilystream or Thrushtail needed any help.

Lilystream's immediate reply was, "Of course! We're short on herbs, nearly all of the apprentices are out training so the elders need their herbs. Nests need changing! It's as if the first day it's really warm out there's absolutely no one in camp!"

Feathertail nodded her head and smiled at the medicine cat's ramblings.

"Oh, and I almost forgot, take those herbs to Silverswirl's kits. Only give them one seed each, I'm trying to wean them off of it."

"Alright Lilystream, I'll be right back." Feathertail grabbed the leaf the herb was on in her mouth and made her way to the nursery. Silverswirl's kits were about three moons old now, so they still had the rest of Greenleaf until they became apprentices.

"Poppykit, Morningkit, Dawnkit, Mintkit, come here!" she called out gently when she arrived.

All four of them came tumbling out of the nursery right into her paws.

"Ow! Oh, sorry Feathertail, we didn't see you there." Morningkit apologized.

"Really?" she said laughing, "Lilystream says you have to take your herbs now."

Dawnkit rolled her eyes, "Still? That stuff tastes so gross!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

"Yah," Mintkit agreed, "Why can't we take something good tasting, like honey?"

Feathertail sighed, "You've never even tasted honey before. The bees have barely even started humming yet."

"But we've heard it's good!" Mintkit argued.

Poppykit nudged her sister, "C'mon, if Lilystream says to then we better."

"Suck-up" Dawnkit mumbled under her breath.

Feathertail gave each of the kits a seed and watched to make sure they swallowed it. Seeing how talkative they were gave Feathertail an idea.

"Would you kits like to go outside the camp?" she asked.

They were silent for a moment. Their last excursion outside ended horrible, resulting in the death of their mother. But, it had been so long ago to them that that memory was beginning to become fuzzy. All they knew was that they shouldn't go outside.

"But I thought we weren't allowed to go outside." Poppykit asked.

"All I have to do is ask Hawkstar and we can all go."

Mintkit shook her head, "I think I want to stay inside today."

"Me too." Dawnkit added.

"Me three! We'll have lots of fun in here!" Morningkit chimed.

But Poppykit looked at all of her sisters before she said, "I think going outside would be fun."

Feathertail smiled. She wrapped her tail around the tufty black kit and led her to her brother's den. Luckily, he had just gotten back from a patrol.

"Hawkstar?" she called out into his tree-stump den.

"Come in Feathertail." She pushed her way past the overhanging vines and into the cool darkness. "You seem to be in here a lot lately." He said warmly with a smile, "What is it?"

Feathertail laughed, "I was just wondering if I could take Poppykit out for a short walk in the woods."

Hawkstar froze for a split second. His eyes lingered on Poppykit, "Why don't you wait for Feathertail outside?"

She nodded her head and bounced back out of his den.

As soon as she left his eyes returned to Feathertail's, "What's this really about?"

"I wanted to see if I could loosen her up enough to talk about what happened that night. Maybe we can finally get rid of that creep."

Hawkstar sighed, "We don't know for sure if it was Reedfur or not. We were all a little paranoid that night and quick to make assumptions." Seeing her indifferent expression he continued, "He could've been hunting down near the river for some birds or other prey and the kits decided to follow him. They could've thought that since he was near, it was okay."

"I'm sorry Hawkstar, but you saw that cold look in his eyes that night. It was like looking into a bottomless pit."

The corner of Hawkstar's mouth twitched into a half-smile, "He's always been like that. That's just how he is, bitter and resentful."

"Bitterness leads to hate. And hate leads to death."

"Enough, Feathertail. He's not guilty until I say he is." Hawkstar snapped.

She was about to reply with a hot retort when Blackear flew in, "Hawkstar, we just chased off a couple more rogues. Their activity is increasing along the meadow border."

Blackear's back leg had a several small cuts in it and his sides were heaving from running fast and hard.

"For the love of StarClan! When will they stop! Is anyone else hurt?" Hawkstar replied.

"Nothing but a couple of scratches. They didn't put up much of a fight."

"Good, double patrols in that area. Feathertail, cancel your little outing. You're going on a patrol." Feathertail's shoulders slumped a bit but she followed Blackear out.

After telling a dejected-looking Poppykit, she joined Blackear, Redfoot, Molenose, and Ripplepaw on a standard border patrol.

By the time they finally got started it was just past sunhigh. Birds flew lightly from branch to branch in the lush, green forest. Puffy white clouds gathered high above them, signaling an approaching storm. Although, it would be far past moonhigh before it ever hit.

They were just approaching the northern edge of the stream when an odd scent hit her nose. It was as if she had smelled it before, but it had been a long time.

Blackear, at the lead, paused, "Do you smell that?" he asked, equally confused.

"Yes," replied Molenose, "I feel like I know it…I just can't remember where."

And then it hit her. That scent. She hadn't smelled it for moons. It was the same scent her late daughter, Willowfall, was. Instinctually she ran out, "Willowfall!" she screamed out, "Willowfall!"

Behind her she could hear the patrol, yelling for her to stop.

And then, there she was, standing next the stream, lapping up water, as perfect as he looked before she got sick.

Feathertail smiled, "Willowfall, how did you get here? I thought I buried you?"

She turned to face Feathertail, but something wasn't right.

"Who's Willowfall? Where am I?" she asked.

Everything was the same, her appearance, her scent, even her voice. But her eyes were wrong. They were green, not yellow.

"You're not Willowfall." By this time the patrol caught up to Feathertail and were equally astonished at what they saw.

She was a carbon copy of the late warrior. Tortoiseshell, long legs, equally long tail, calm demeanor. Everything except the eyes.

Blackear spoke first, "Who are you?" he asked quietly, lacking his usual demanding tone.

The Willowfall-look-a-like was silent. She seemed to be concentrating, thinking, "I'm not sure."

"How can you not know who you are?" Redfoot asked.

"I don't know. I can't remember anything."

All of the cats looked at each other oddly before Blackear spoke again, "Why don't you come to our camp with us."

"Camp…the SunClan camp?"

"Do you know the place?" Molenose asked cautiously.

"Yes…Yes I do. It's under all of the oak trees."

Feathertail's jaw dropped open in awe. How could this she-cat, who looked just like her daughter, not be her daughter?

Blackear powered through the astonishment and said, "Why don't you lead us there?"

She nodded her head and started. They all crowded behind her and followed in a daze. She took the exact path right through the thorn barrier into the camp. Not pausing or stopping at all. Not one moment of hesitation.

Rockclaw wandered out of the warriors' den looking as happy-confused as Feathertail did when she first scented this mystery cat's scent.

"Willowfall…" he said.

Feathertail shook her head. By now nearly all of the clan had gathered around this she-cat. Amazed.

Hawkstar strode out of his den and stood shocked for a moment. Then, gathering his thoughts he asked, "Who are you?"

She, who had been sitting looking down at the ground, looked up, "I do not know."

"How can you not know who you are?"

Lilystream spoke up from the back of the crowd, "She could have amnesia. It's uncommon, but not unheard of." She pushed her way through the crowd until she reached the she-cat. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The she-cat's eyes searched unseen memories for a moment or two before replying, "Opening my eyes at the stream. Then Feathertail, Blackear, Redfoot, Molenose, and Ripplepaw showed up."

Blackear spoke up now, "We didn't tell her our names, Hawkstar."

"How did you know their names?" Hawkstar demanded.

The she-cat looked beside herself, "I don't know. I just know them."

"Be quite, Hawkstar!" Lilystream shouted. Sometimes, she seemed more in authority than even him. Turning back to the bewildered she-cat she asked, "I know it's hard, but can you remember anything before opening your eyes at the stream?"

"No." she whispered quietly.

"Even your name?"

"No."

"Well that'll never do. She needs a name." Morningkit squeaked from Rosebloom's side.

Rosebloom hushed her but Lilystream interceded, "No, she's right. Hawkstar, she needs a name."

SunClan turned to their leader. If he gave her a name, that meant she was staying with the clan. If he didn't, that meant she wasn't. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Welcome to SunClan…Brookwing."

Only a few murmured in dissent, but most were accepting and congratulated Brookwing. She looked happy, like she was meant to be in SunClan.

Meanwhile, Feathertail padded over to Lilystream and pulled her aside, "You don't think that Brookwing could be…"

"No. She is not Willowfall in body. But, I have another theory."

Feathertail was intrigued, "What is it?"

"Maybe, just maybe, she could be a reincarnation of Willowfall."

"How is that even possible?"

Lilystream sighed, "I never told you this for fear of upsetting you. StarClan was unhappy over Willowfall's death. She was bright, kind, and smart. Unfortunately, the greencough was slightly unexpected. So, I thought something like this might happen."

Feathertail stared at the medicine cat in awe, "Impossible…"

"Please, Feathertail, you can't tell anyone else. I don't think she needs to know."

Feathertail looked back at Brookwing, glowing with happiness in the center of the camp, "You're right. Just between us, right."

Lilystream smiled, "Exactly."


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next day Feathertail awoke to a storm, filling the sky with lightning and thunder. Rain poured down relentlessly. There was even some hail mixed in. She looked around the den and saw that Rockclaw, Blackear, and Reedfur were gone. They must've been on a patrol.

She rose to her paws and stretched. It was days like these that she was glad that the den was closed in on all sides.

Cautiously, she stuck her head out of the entrance and squinted across the clearing to the fresh-kill pile. A soaked crow and several mice gathered a pool of water.

"Hey Feathertail," It was Brindlenose, "Do you want to share the crow before it gets any wetter?"

Feathertail laughed, "I don't think that's even possible!" both she-cats laughed, "I'll go get it."

She ran out through the clearing and back with the prey in no time at all. As they ate the den slowly cleared out as warriors left for patrols, trained their apprentices, or went hunting. Soon, it was only those two left.

Seeing this, Feathertail took advantage of the moment, "So, have you talked to Longwhisker lately?"

Brindlenose sighed, "Once or twice, on patrols. I think he still loves…well, you-know-who."

"I'm sorry Brindlenose."

She laughed hollowly, "Actually, I think it's a good thing. It's better than leading me on."

"I suppose."

"I hope you don't mind," Feathertail said, breaking the conversation, "But I'm going to go visit the kits. I still didn't get to talk to Poppykit."

Brindlenose nodded her head and Feathertail left. Instead of running right across the clearing she skirted around the outsides, staying away from the worst of the pounding rain.

Inside the nursery it was as warm as always. Most of the queens and kits were sleeping or in the elders' den, listening to stories. Luckily, Poppykit and her sisters were in the center, playing a game of war.

"Morningkit, c'mon!" Dawnkit whispered to her sister, "We gotta get the OceanClan patrol before they invade us!"

"Shhh, I know! I'm going to sneak up from behind!"

"Too late!" shouted Mintkit, pouncing on Dawnkit. Poppykit jumped on Morningkit and all four of them began rolling around playfully in the moss. Feathertail laughed for a few moments before stopping them.

"You four are going to destroy the whole den with your play!"

"Sorry Feathertail, but Rosebloom said we couldn't go outside to play since it's so wet."

Feathertail nodded her head, "Good, then you'd have to be cleaned!" They all made faces.

"Poppykit?" Feathertail asked.

"Yah?"

"I was wondering if you'd still like to go for that talk?"

Poppykit glanced out the den, "But it's still raining."

"I know a dry place; it'll be a neat adventure!" Feathertail enticed her.

Poppykit contemplated it for several heartbeats, "Okay."

With Poppykit forging straight ahead to the entrance, Feathertail had a chance to look around. Longwhisker was on guard and Hawkstar was nowhere to be seen.

As they approached the entrance, Feathertail's heartbeat quickened. She hoped that Longwhisker wouldn't guess what she was up to.

He didn't.

He only nodded his head lazily as the two she-cats slipped out of camp and into the wet woods. Poppykit followed her as they headed for a dry, hollowed out tree. It wasn't far from the camp, but no one else knew about it.

The rain, however, made its presence well known. Puddles formed around their paws as they squished through the thick layer of mud, leaves, and grass. Not even the birds ventured out into the downpour. Occasionally they would run across the tracks of an elusive deer or the slithering one's of a snake.

Luckily, it didn't take long to reach the hiding place. Once they were inside Poppykit shook her long coat, sending water everywhere. Feathertail laughed and asked her, "So, what do you think?"

Poppykit smiled, "That was fun! It was wet, but fun!"

"Good. I was hoping you'd like it."

Suddenly it was very quiet. Poppykit's face fell, "It reminds me…of that night…"

Again Feathertail's heart fluttered, "No one really knows what happened that night."

Poppykit shook her head, "Feathertail…I can't tell anyone."

"Why? You know you can trust me. I was your mother's good friend. I'm your friend."

The small black kit looked down at her paws, "He said if I told, he would hurt me. He would hurt my sisters."

"Who?" Feathertail asked. Poppykit was silent, ears slicked back. "Who, Poppykit?" She asked, slightly louder this time. Again she was silent. "Poppykit, who said that!" Feathertail demanded.

Trembling, Poppykit said yet again, "I can't tell you!"

Feathertail took a steadying breath, "Poppykit, I'm sorry I yelled. He can't hurt you. He won't. Please, just please tell me."

Her eyes were squeezed shut. Still trembling she said, "We were sleeping. He came into nursery and asked if we wanted to play a fun game. We said yes." Feathertail dared not even breathe, in case she would interrupt the kit. "He said that we couldn't tell anyone else, or we might get in trouble. Mintkit didn't want to, but I made her. I said it would be fun.

He took us out in the woods, past Redfoot, who was sleeping. We followed him for a long time. It was really cold. I told him that, but he told me to be quiet, in case we should wake someone. Then we came upon the Great River. It was flowing pretty fast, but he said that's how it always was." For a moment Feathertail almost argued that. But then she realized that the kits had never been that far from camp before, they would've never seen the Great River at its usual pace.

Poppykit continued her story, "He found a log then. He said that if we got on it, it would take us all the way to the other bank and back. We said it was impossible, but he said it was a secret that only StarClan, we, and he knew about. If we did that, we would be the best warriors SunClan had ever seen. Ever!"

Ever so quietly Feathertail asked, "That's how you ended up on the log, isn't it?" Poppykit nodded her head. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

She thought for a moment before replying, "Then, the next night, after it all was over, he came into the den again and told us that if we told, he would kill us."

"Okay. Poppykit, there's no way that he can hurt you. Hawkstar will punish him for what he did. You don't have to worry about him."

It was silent in the hollow again. Only the sound of tapping rain against the bark intruded their silence. Then she spoke, "Feathertail…you're sure?"

"Yes."

"He can't hurt me?"

"There's no possible way." She assured the kit.

"Okay, I'll tell you." The seconds seemed to stretch into seasons as she waited for her answer, "It was-"

Suddenly, a screech filled the air. Sounds of fighting cats broke their silence. Abandoning her hope for an answer, she grabbed the kit and sprinted back to camp. Leaves and branches slapped her face as she rushed through the undergrowth. Quickly, she dropped off Poppykit in the nursery and returned to the clearing, where the clan was steadily gathering.

She located Brindlenose and asked her, "What's going on, what happened?"

Brindlenose said, "More rogues, there were a lot of them this time. Talon was with them I heard."

"Not again! What's Hawkstar going to do?"

She rolled her eyes, "More patrols as always. He doesn't want to attack them directly since their force is so large." Glancing sideways at her friend she asked, "So, what were you doing with Poppykit?"

Feathertail's head snapped towards her, eyes widened, "How did you know?"

Brindlenose smiled, "I saw you leave. Don't worry, no one else saw." Feathertail breathed a sigh of relief, "So, what were you doing with her?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She replied.

Brindlenose narrowed her eyes and nodded her head, "Alright then. I'll find out soon enough I presume."

Soon, if only she could get the answer. She had been so close. Only one word away from the answer.

Night fell quickly on the camp that day, sending shadows sprawling everywhere from a nearly half-full moon. Unable to sleep, she stared out into the clearing restlessly. Then, two little eyes looked back at her.

Slowly, they got closer to her until she could tell who it was, Poppykit. She walked up until she was right next to her ear. Every so quietly she said one word.

"Thank you." Feathertail whispered to the kit. Poppykit nodded her head and retreated to the nursery.

Tomorrow, tomorrow she would reveal everything. She would be able to tell Hawkstar who really led Silverswirl to her death. And who attempted to hurt four young kits.

But for now, Feathertail could sleep peacefully.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Feathertail woke up to a red dawn streaking across the sky. She knew that usually meant a bad thing was coming, but she shrugged it off. Today was the day that she was finally going to get revenge for Silverswirl's death.

Unfortunately, she was rushed straight into a hunting party with Rockclaw and Squirrelbird. She was able to catch a large squirrel and a crow easily. Every chance she had to talk to Hawkstar was foiled by some cat or another.

Then, finally, near the end of the day, Lilystream padded up to her.

"Feathertail!" she called, just as she was heading for Hawkstar's den, "I'm glad I caught you!"

"Yes Lilystream? What did you want?" she asked as politely as her frustrated mood let her.

"I was hoping you could take Brownpaw on a patrol. His leg's still pretty bad, but I think a simple border patrol will do him good."

This caught Feathertail's attention, "Sure, I would be happy to!"

He hadn't forgotten about what she had to tell Hawkstar, but this was something she had to do. Running up to Redfoot she asked him, "Hey, could I join your border patrol?"

He nodded his head, "Sure, I'm going to take Brookwing along too, it's her first official border patrol. She's just been on training lately."

"Alright, Brownpaw's coming with too."

Redfoot smiled, "Really? That's great!"

After Redfoot got Brookwing, and she got Brownpaw, they headed out on their border patrol. They were just going to mark around the BreezeClan border before the sun set.

Just as they reached the cliff Feathertail saw something stirring in the small patch of trees near the rockface. It ran up a tree and the shook the branches, causing some small larks to fly out of their perch.

"Did you see that?" she whispered.

"Yah, it looked like a cat." Brookwing replied.

"That's what I saw." Rockclaw said.

"Me too, c'mon. Let's go see." Redfoot said as he led the cats towards the tree. They reached the roots of the tree and looked back and forth before locating the cat. It was just a small apprentice from BreezeClan. She couldn't tell who it was through the branches though.

Redfoot stepped forward and called up to her, "I am Redfoot from SunClan, who are you and what are you doing on our territory?"

Her voice quavered in her reply, "I-I'm Dovepaw…from BreezeClan! I followed a path down here and was frightened into the tree." Feathertail quickly looked at the weeds covering the hole that led to the secret cave. There weren't any paths near this part of the border. That was the only way she could've reached this area. But she didn't say anything.

Redfoot called to her again, "Come down here at once so we can talk properly. I won't be shouting up at you the whole time!"

The branch shook again, "I would if I could but I can't. I'm…well…I'm stuck!" Brownpaw snickered but Feathertail shoved him to quiet him.

Redfoot sighed annoyedly, "Fine, hold on a moment!" he turned to Brookwing and Feathertail, "Feathertail, Brookwing, I want you to go up there and get her down. Brownpaw, go to camp and warn Hawkstar that we have an intruder from BreezeClan. Tell him that we are bringing her back and will be there shortly."

Brownpaw vanished into the shade of the trees as Feathertail and Brookwing climbed their way up. Brookwing reached her first and grabbed her scruff in her jaws. Dovepaw went limp and let the she-cat carry her down. Feathertail latched onto her end and helped carry her down the tree. Eventually they arrived at the roots of the tree again. Both of them let go of the apprentice at the same time, accidentally letting her hit the ground with an audible thump.

"Alright, Dovepaw, you're coming with us the SunClan camp." What should've been a quick journey back was extremely lengthened by the fact that every few heartbeats it seemed Dovepaw tripped on the roots or got her paws tangled in the undergrowth. Feathertail tried to hide her annoyance, but it was hard.

After an eternity of running they finally arrived at the SunClan camp. Longwhisker was on guard and immediately began laughing, "Redfoot, you didn't tell us that the prisoner was a small apprentice! We were waiting for a full grown warrior." Redfoot rolled his eyes and stalked past him.

"Hawkstar," Redfoot called, "We have the prisoner." They led Dovepaw to Hawkstar's den where the tabby leader was waiting for them, "Redfoot, it seems that you have forgotten to include the fact that this is just an apprentice. I was expecting an entire intruding force."

"I'm sorry Hawkstar," Redfoot apologized, "I was in a hurry to get here."

"Fine. Just don't forget it next time." Turning to Dovepaw he added, "What are you doing in SunClan territory? Are you part of an intrusion?"

Dovepaw looked terrified as she replied, "N-no. I was following a path down the cliff and I ended up here."

Hawkstar turned to Blackear next, "Blackear, take Grassclaw, Birchface, and Patchpelt on a border patrol near the cliff. I don't trust this apprentice, however innocent she might seem. I want somebody stationed on guard surrounding her at all times."

"Yes Hawkstar, but don't you think we should still have somebody guarding the northern border. Those rogues could still be a problem."

Hawkstar shook his head, "We're short as it is. I think we can afford a day or two of not guarding that area." Then, turning to the apprentice again, "You, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Dovepaw, sir." She told him humbly.

"Dovepaw," Hawkstar said, "I will keep you here in the camp until I see fit, or until your clan comes to get you. Do you understand?"

Dovepaw's eyes grew wide with dread, "Yes sir, I understand."

Hawkstar called Longwhisker over, "For now, you will be under guard by Longwhisker. I'll have one of my apprentices gather some moss for your nest and you will sleep next to the Highstump. Birchface, is it alright with you if Ivypaw helped guard her. It would be good experience for her."

"Sure Hawkstar, she needs to learn some patience anyway." Birchface licked Ivypaw's ear playfully, "I'll need to move into the nursery soon anyhow and I think Longwhisker would be perfect to mentor her, if it's okay with you of course." Feathertail didn't even know that she was expecting kits!

"Sure." Hawkstar replied. Then, Ivypaw stepped forward, "Dovepaw, this is Ivypaw. She will probably be guarding you the most."

Feathertail left now, satisfied with Hawkstar's punishment. She padded up to Birchface now, who was heading towards the nursery.

"So…You're expecting kits?" she asked her, finally now noticing her slightly larger belly.

Birchface laughed, "Yah, crazy isn't it?"

"Well, who's the father?"

Birchface's eyes grew large, "I prefer not to tell. If that's alright with you."

"Oh, of course. Besides, I'm sure whoever it is is a great cat." Birchface nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, looks like the sun is about to go down. I need to get a nest in the nursery yet!"

"Alright, see yah later!" Feathertail called as she headed for the warriors' den. As she walked she suddenly remembered what she had forgotten. Turning around she made a bee-line for Hawkstar's den. When she arrived she peeked in to see that he had already left for a patrol. Most likely along the OceanClan border.

Just as she was turning around Lilystream caught up to her again, "So how was Brownpaw today?" she asked.

"Fine, he did have a slight limp, but it wasn't anything serious." Noticing the rising half-moon she added, "Shouldn't you be gone for the medicine cat meeting?"

Lilystream laughed, "I'm surprised you noticed, you're the first. I sent Thrushtail in my stead. Coalkit has a cough that I would like to see too. I'm sure they'll understand."

"Oh, okay. Well, It's getting late, I was hoping to take Brownpaw on another patrol tomorrow so I need to get enough sleep."

"Okay, goodnight Feathertail." Lilystream said as she headed for the medicine cat den once more.

"Night Lilystream."

That night was peacefully still. In the clearing she could hear Ivypaw and Dovepaw relentlessly chatting, but other than that, the half-moon was quiet. Feathertail began to fall asleep gazing around the warriors' den. There was one empty nest that Feathertail assumed was Birchface's. In her head the name of that cat bounced around endlessly.

The cool night breeze gently sighed over the tree tops above her head. Several leaves floated down around her nest like stars from StarClan themselves. Thunder rumbles quietly in the distance, rain. It wasn't raining yet, but Feathertail knew it would. Her mate, Rockclaw, was sleeping beside her. In the clearing she could hear the soft whispering of the two apprentices. Ivypaw was talking to Dovepaw, unknowingly comforting her.

The breeze was beginning to pick up as she closed her eyes in sleep. She perked her ears though as she heard heavy pawsteps outside of the camp. She jerked up, wide awake, as she suddenly realized that there had never been a night patrol. They were being invaded! Before she could do anything a loud screech sounded outside her den.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"SunClan! Invasion!" She screeched as loud as she could as she ran out of the warrior's den and straight into a thin black and white tom. She sank her claws into his flank and barreled into him. He twisted around and bit hard on her leg. She quickly jerked back and flew at him again. He was too fast though as she landed on hard earth. Just as she was turning around he pounced on her back, shredding her ear and tearing at her side.

Then the weight was gone. In the dark Feathertail couldn't tell who it was who saved her. She could only tell that the cat was chasing the rogue out of camp.

Feathertail recognized these rogues. They were the ones that were terrorizing the twoleg place and killing cats left and right. She instantly spotted several of the well-known ones tearing at other cats. Talon, Offenseur, Ruisseau, and her first attacker, Croc. They were viciously attacking anyone in their sight. Feathertail swung towards the nursery where several apprentices were defending it against two burly rogues. She sprinted towards there when she was attacked from behind.

Feathertail screeched in pain as a large orange tom caught her on her hindquarters. She twisted around until she could see him and delivered a heavy blow to his head. Leaving him for some other warrior.

Feathertail ran head on, claws unsheathed, to a dark brown tabby tom nearby. She pounced for his back, but he was too quick and dodged her. Luckily, Feathertail recovered quickly and veered out of the path of his razor-sharp claws. She twisted and caught him just below his eye. He backed off and hissed at her. But just behind him Blackear was waiting. He slid underneath the tom, slicing his claws into his belly. The tom fell to the ground, never to move again.

Feathertail was about to object, saying that killing was against the warrior code, when she finally got a good look at the battle. Several cats already lay dead or dying from both sides. Feathertail's fur stood straight up as she searched for another opponent.

Then she saw Leopardspots locked in a fight with a she-cat two times her size. Immediately she launched herself at her. This time, she landed on her back and sunk her claws deep into her pelt. The she-cat shrieked in pain and twisted around, trying to launch Feathertail from her. Leopardspots took advantage of the distraction and bit hard on the she-cat's throat, tearing it open.

The she-cat faltered for a moment or two, still fighting Feathertail, before she too fell to the ground. Unfortunately, the rest of the clan wasn't faring so well. SunClan was losing the battle, little by little. Again, turning to the nursery, she noticed the apprentices were lying on the ground now. Another rogue was pulling out a kit. As she watched, horrified, he slit its throat.

Then, a new scent filled the air. It wasn't SunClan or rogues. It was BreezeClan!

Amberstar and a large patrol of BreezeClan warriors streamed through the entrance, claws unsheathed. With the extra force, the rogues were quickly ran out or killed.

Suddenly, Feathertail noticed a commotion near Hawkstar's den. The SunClan and BreezeClan cats were gathered in a large circle. Feathertail shoved her way so that she could see what was going on. Hawkstar was bleeding badly but still standing. Offenseur was standing next to Reedfur opposite of the leader.

"You can't…defeat…us all." Hawkstar stuttered.

"Watch me." Offenseur countered. Then, he flung himself at Hawkstar. The leader easily dodged him and managed to scratch his side as he flew by. Hawkstar then turned around and raked his claws down Off's back. Blackear intervened and pinned Off down before he could attack. Hawkstar walked up to him.

"Off, I'm going to give you one chance. I can banish you to beyond the jagged peaks. Or, if you refuse, I can kill you. Which would you rather have?"

Off sneered and flung a spit-blood mixture into Hawkstar's face, "I would rather die than surrender to some weak clan cats."

Hawkstar's face hardened, "Very well then. Feathertail looked away as her leader served him the killing bite. And, just like that, Off was no more. Then, Hawkstar turned to find Reedfur sprinting out of the camp, "Follow him!" A dozen warriors chased after the traitor into the woods.

Feathertail breathed a sigh of relief. There were no more rogues to bother them anymore. Then, from the back of the camp, she heard Longwhisker call, "Quick, get Lilystream, hurry!"

Her head snapped towards his voice to see him standing close, too close, to Amberstar. She was lying on the ground, sides heaving up and down dangerously. Her side was torn open with a large pool of blood gathered next to her. As she noticed this she suddenly went completely still. As if she were dead.

"Lilystream, come quick!" He called again. The BreezeClan cats quickly gathered around their leader, horrified at the sight of the leader slowly dying.

"Stand aside; I'm trying to get through! Move!" Lilystream barged through the surrounding crowd and called for several warriors to help her get Amberstar to the medicine cat den.

"Hurry up, get her to my den, NOW!" the medicine cat's loud voice snapped everyone out of the daze they were in. "We don't have much time until she begins to move again, and I want to take care of her where I have herbs close at paw." Two warriors from BreezeClan gently shouldered their leader and followed Lilystream to her den. Feathertail followed.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Feathertail asked. Remembering the medicine cat apprentice was gone she added, "I think you'll need someone like me to help, even though I'm not that experienced.

Lilystream glanced around her den and ordered, "I need a lot of cobweb, chamomile, chervil juice, horsetail, and poppy seeds!" She listed off the herbs frantically as Feathertail began rummaging through the herb store. Squirrelbird bounded in with her mouth overflowing with cobwebs. "Feathertail…"

"What, what do you need?"

"…add borage to that list."

"Why borage? I thought that was only used for queens."

Lilystream stood aside for several seconds, long enough for Feathertail to see a tiny kit, mewling next to Amberstar's body.

"Oh StarClan…" Outside there was a commotion as rain started to pound the roof of the den. "Go get Cinderfur." Lilystream's voice was deathly quiet.

Exiting the den, Feathertail got to see the camp again. Fur flew everywhere in the wind and rain. The mud was sticky and dark with cat's blood. Warriors were carefully dragging the bodies to the edges of camp, underneath the bushes and trees.

"Cinderfur! Lilystream needs you right away." She called out into the large den.

"Why does she need me?" She asked walking up the Feathertail. She added, "None of my kits were injured or…"

"Yes, I know, but it's about Amberstar."

"Amberstar, why would Lilystream need a queen to help with a leader?"

Feathertail looked over the grey queen's shoulder to make sure none of the others were eavesdropping, "Amberstar is having her kits and considering the state she's in, someone's going to have to take care of them."

Cinderfur's eyes became as large as moons. She slowly nodded her head and bounded out of the nursery towards the medicine cat den.

Somehow, Lilystream managed to deliver the kits and save Amberstar's life. She had three kits. One of whom looked just like Longwhisker, who was pinned to her side the entire time. But, whatever breaking of the warrior code that was going on, was going unnoticed.

When Lilystream finally dismissed her she ventured out into the clearing to see the damage. About all of the dens were damaged or destroyed. In the time that it took to save Amberstar the rest of the clans had gathered their dead in separate piles. Rogues in one line. SunClan's in another line. And BreezeClan's in another line.

Feathertail didn't care to look at the rogues. Instead, she skipped right ahead to the BreezeClan cats. Rabbitleap, Adderslide, Tawnystripe, and Thornpaw lay dead. They were all experienced warrior except for Thornpaw, who was so young.

Next, shaking, she looked at the line of SunClan's dead. Grassclaw and Patchpelt were the only warriors fallen from her clan. Her heart fell suddenly, Brownpaw…Brownpaw was among the dead. Also Bluepaw was there. Her heart felt like it would fall right out of her body at the next bodies. Icekit and Jaykit. Two of Rosebloom's kits. Dead… Last was One-eye. He had lived a good, long life with the clan for countless moons.

Then, the remainder of the prophecy made sense. _The small destroy…_The small were the rogues. They were never considered to be a big problem. And they destroyed so many.

The cats that had chased after Reedfur returned then, tails drooping from running so hard. She overheard Blackear's report to Hawkstar, who was being patched up by Lilystream, who was done with Amberstar.

"We followed him to the Great River. He tried to swim across, but he's never been good at swimming. He drowned."

"Are you sure?" Hawkstar asked.

"We saw his body." Blackear replied.

Hawkstar nodded his head, "Okay. Go help the BreezeClan cats."

"Hawkstar…" Blackear said.

"What?"

"We found Thrushtail's body near the Great River near the OceanClan border. He must've been travelling to the medicine cat gathering when he was ambushed. By the looks of it, it was Talon.

"No…" Feathertail said, "Lilystream's going to be heartbroken."

"Very well then." Hawkstar said, "Start repairs on the dens and tell the elders to begin burying the bodies. We can't have so many dead left just lying there. Also, see if BreezeClan needs help transporting their fallen."

Blackear nodded his head. After doing what Hawkstar asked of him he joined him next to the dead kits' bodies.

"They were so young." Feathertail said.

"I know. Too young."

"Rosebloom must be devastated." She said.

Blackear nodded his head, "It isn't the first time some of her kits have died, but this time it was so violent."

"Her very first litter…" Feathertail whispered quietly, "I have to go help Lilystream now, she needs the help."

As she helped stop bleeding and handed our herbs Feathertail thought to herself. They could recover from this. They had recovered from the Greencough. From the flood. They would survive. The prophecy was wrong. StarClan was wrong. She reworded the prophecy in her mind.

_Where there was hope, now there is despair, where full nests thrive, now they will empty. Beware the waters that consume. Beware the green. Do not forget those that seem insignificant. SunClan must fulfill its ultimate destiny. SunClan will __LIVE__!_"

SunClan's fate was to survive.


End file.
